WR Mike Furrey is dropped from Lions' roster

WR Mike Furrey is dropped from Lions' roster
January 29
Detroit Free Press
"A few NFL players stood on a temporary stage set up in the middle of a blocked-off, residential street Wednesday. They were there as part of a charity event connected with Super Bowl XLIII, helping volunteers build a playground for the neighborhood.

An official introduced them: Jason Witten of the Dallas Cowboys, Amani Toomer of the New York Giants, Mike Furrey of the Detroit Lions ...

But when Furrey's name was called, he looked down, smiled and said something to the guy next to him.

He wasn't a Lion anymore.

A few minutes earlier, he had hoisted a wooden beam on his shoulder and said: "They just released me."

Furrey was with his family at Metro Airport about 9 a.m. Tuesday, about to board a flight to Tampa, when his wife's phone rang. It was Lions general manager Martin Mayhew.

"He just said that he was calling the guys that he was going to release, and I was one of them," Furrey said. "That was it. Short. Very short."

It is unknown what other players Mayhew called. Mayhew was unavailable for comment. Teams officially can start releasing players Feb. 9 under NFL rules.

"No players have been officially released," team spokesman Bill Keenist said. "There have been some discussions with players and the front office as part of the ongoing evaluation process."

Furrey followed Mike Martz from St. Louis to Detroit in 2006, led the NFC with 98 catches and landed a three-year contract. After another former Ram reunited with Martz, Shaun McDonald, Furrey's catches dipped to 61 in '07. Then, after Martz was fired as offensive coordinator, Furrey's catches dropped to 18 in '08.

But Furrey suffered a concussion nine games into 2008. When the Lions put him on injured reserve, Furrey publicly disagreed with the decision, saying he felt fine, and with how the Lions handled it, saying he had to find Mayhew in the cafeteria to find out he was on IR.

Asked if that is a reason the Lions are releasing him, Furrey said: "I don't know. That's a man to a man, you know. We were all disgruntled. We all wanted to win. We all felt it could be different. Some guys expressed change and getting things on the right track because we all wanted to win, and it was kind of like we got pushed aside."

The Lions put quarterback Jon Kitna on injured reserve because of a back injury four games into 2008, even though he said he felt well enough to play. Kitna had voiced some of his displeasure with the offense, though not all of it."
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