Detroit Lions signed veteran CB Kendall Fuller to the practice squad to add depth to secondary thinned by injury.
The Detroit Lions ran a trick play on the goal line of last week's loss to the Kansas City Chiefs that resulted in a touchdown, only to have the score overturned by penalty.
On Tuesday, Lions coach Dan Campbell said he was to blame for the infraction that nullified the score.
"I told the team, I take full responsibility for that. I do," Campbell said. "Players did exactly what we told them to do, (Jared) Goff did exactly what we told him to do, David (Montgomery) did, and I will take that. You’ve got to make it very clear on where you are, and I did not do that. And I told them I take responsibility for that.”
Goff appeared to catch a 1-yard touchdown pass from Montgomery on a fourth-and-goal play at the end of the Lions' almost-10-minute opening drive, but the score was nullified after officials threw a flag for illegal motion.
At issue, Goff initially lined up behind center Graham Glasgow, then motioned to his left, where he caught the pass and followed a block from Amon-Ra St. Brown into the end zone.
Because he first lined up in the quarterback spot, Goff had to come to stop for at least a full second to become an eligible receiver, referee Craig Wrolstad explained in a pool report after the game.
Montgomery took the snap while Goff was still in motion.
Goff said after the game he didn't know the rule, and Lions coaches apparently didn't, either.
"I got to do a little – I guess we all do – research on what exactly went wrong," Goff said. "Cause my hands were not under center and I was set to begin the play. And as far as I was concerned, I thought that was the only thing I needed to do.
"They were saying that – I’ve never heard this, because of how close I was to the center, that then declares me as a quarterback and then I then can’t go in motion. I was only under the impression that it was my hands under center. So that’s a new version of that rule that I had never heard of and I think a lot of our coaches had never heard of. Yeah, and if that is the rule, then I guess we need to do a little more research on it."
The Lions have run into trouble before using deception to bolster trick plays.
In 2023, they had a game-winning 2-point conversion pass to left tackle Taylor Decker nullified when referee Brad Allen mistakenly announced swing tackle Dan Skipper as the eligible receiver. Skipper ran onto the field signaling a personnel package with a motion similar to one players use to report, then gathered with Decker and Penei Sewell near Allen as Decker approached the referee to report as eligible.
The Lions failed in their follow-up attempts to convert the two-point try and lost to the Dallas Cowboys, 20-19.
On Sunday, the Lions settled for a field goal on their opening drive after the motion penalty and a second one for delay of game.
Asked Tuesday if he approached Wrolstad and his officiating crew ahead of time to explain the goal-line play, as he did with Allen and the 2-pointer in 2023, Campbell said, "I don’t even want to talk about it."
"I don’t and I’m sorry," he said. "I really, it just, it’s a real sore spot."
Lions roster moves
The Lions made a handful of roster moves Tuesday, waiving safety Loren Strickland and signing cornerback Kendall Fuller to the practice squad.
Fuller, 30, made 11 starts for the Miami Dolphins last season and should help a Lions cornerback room thinned by injuries. Starters D.J. Reed and Terrion Arnold are out until after next week's bye, backups Khalil Dorsey and Ennis Rakestraw Jr. are on injured reserve, and backup safety/slot cornerback Avonte Maddox is expected to miss this week's game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers with a hamstring injury.
The Lions also re-signed center Kingsley Eguakun and defensive tackle Chris Smith to the practice squad after cutting both players from the 53-man roster Saturday.
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Dave Birkett covers the Lions for the Detroit Free Press. Contact him at [email protected]. Follow him on Bluesky, X and Instagram at @davebirkett.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Dan Campbell: Lions' overturned trick play touchdown a real sore spot
Category: Football
