Lions sign LB Larry Foote to one year deal

It's official: The Lions have signed linebacker Larry Foote to a one-year deal.
Foote was released by the Super Bowl champion Pittsburgh Steelers on Monday. But he's happy to go to a team coming off the NFL's first 0-16 season. He's a Detroit native, and he wants to prove his worth as a three-down linebacker.

The Lions didn't promise him anything, though, when he visited them Tuesday.

"The point we made with him is the same point we made with every player on the team," Schwartz said this morning during an appearance on WRIF-FM (101.1). "When he does sign on that line, he's not signing as the starting middle linebacker. He's signing to compete for the starting job.

"We're going to play the best player, whether it's quarterback, whether it's middle linebacker, and what he's done in the past, what he did at Michigan, what he did at the Pittsburgh Steelers, really means nothing to us now. It's who produces right now.

"We wanted to be very clear with him yesterday that he was on the same page, and he is. He's a competitor. He likes to play. He likes to practice. He likes to prepare. It was important that he was on the same page that we were in terms of the starting job."

The Lions have added a lot of veterans to their defense this offseason, as Tennessee did after it bottomed out in 2005 after a salary-cap purge. Schwartz was the Titans' defensive coordinator then, and he saw how those veterans helped turn things around.

"It wasn't just their play on the field," Schwartz said. "It was their professionalism. It was their work habits. It was their leadership. It was their experience that meant as much as their play on the field."

As for Foote's desire to play in his hometown, Schwartz shrugged it off as a factor in the Lions' decision.

"We don't have an inferiority complex," Schwartz said. "We expect people to want to play for us."

Copyright 2007 USA TODAY, a division of Gannett Co. Inc.

Wednesday, May 6, 2009
Tough Larry Foote excited about fresh start with Lions
John Niyo / The Detroit News

Allen Park -- Larry Foote is home -- and happy. After signing a one-year contract with the Lions on Wednesday, the free agent linebacker -- a Detroit native and former University of Michigan star -- met with the media to explain why he left behind a seven-year career in Pittsburgh with the NFL's most successful franchise to join the rebuilding effort here.

"It's my hometown," said Foote, a Pershing grad who recently bought a home in suburban Detroit. "All along during my career, this idea was always in the back of my head, you know, 'What would it be like to play for the Lions?' What a great opportunity. A fresh start in my career. New coaches. I'm just excited."

Asked what he'll bring to the Lions, Foote answered, "A good football player. I bring leadership, experience, I'm a vet. And I don't have to say I'm tough, but I'm definitely tough."

A five-year starter in Pittsburgh, where he was part of two Super Bowl-winning teams, Foote was being phased out as a starter at inside linebacker. That's the reason he asked for a trade this winter, and why the Steelers finally released him Monday after finding no takers for Foote, who was due to make nearly $2.9 million in salary in 2009.

His agent, Ken Kremer, hammered out a deal with the Lions on Tuesday night, and Foote, who turns 29 next month, said Wednesday he had other offers on the table. Arizona, Indianapolis and Tampa Bay were among the teams interested.

But Foote views his new contract as a chance to prove himself -- and his value -- to the Lions and the rest of the league, especially with the NFL expected to operate without a salary cap in 2010.

"I wanted a one-year deal, basically," said Foote, who sat through his first position-group meeting with teammates Wednesday and will join them for an on-field workout Thursday wearing jersey No. 55. "I wasn't fighting with my agent. And we weren't fighting with (Lions general manager Martin) Mayhew last night. We just said, 'Whatever it takes, let's just get it done.' I told (Lions president) Tom Lewand, 'In a couple months, you're gonna wish you signed me longer, because I'm gonna be worth a lot more.'"