4 months ago
- Lions
- Published: Jan. 07, 2026, 11:00 a.m.
ALLEN PARK -- Roy Lopez vanished nan play without starting a crippled for nan first clip successful his career, but that hasn’t changed his liking successful coming backmost to nan Detroit Lions.
The fifth-year protect lineman, who joined nan Lions connected a one-year statement for nan 2025 season, said connected Monday during locker room cleanouts that he wants to enactment successful Detroit.
Lopez joked that his important other’s emotion for Detroit was a apical logic to stay, but he besides said sharing nan protect statement room pinch Aidan Hutchinson, Alim McNeill, and D.J. Reader was a career-changing acquisition that helped him improve.
“I deliberation nan biggest point that I sewage to study people’s routines,” Lopez told reporters. I sewage to learn, I told him earlier, it was patience. It was thing that made you spot nan crippled different. This is my 5th year, and each twelvemonth I was a starter, and I sewage to study down DJ and nan measurement he sees nan game, nan measurement he sees blocks, nan measurement he sees nan game. And I sewage to incorporated that pinch my style of play. I deliberation maine and him were awesome together, man.
“I sewage to study truthful overmuch from Alim, from Hutch, from DJ, and from Jack (Campbell), from Alex (Anzalone), from everybody, man. And from (Derrick) Barnes. I’m learning from everybody, whether it’s Graham (Glasgow), Penei (Sewell), everybody. So I’m a existent believer that you tin proceed to turn and get amended astatine football.”
Part of taking that adjacent measurement successful his improvement this offseason will beryllium going backmost to his roots. Lopez has a inheritance successful mixed martial arts and wrestling, which has helped him pinch his pad level and his effectiveness arsenic a tally stopper.
Lopez ended nan play pinch 30 tackles, 13 pressures, 5 backmost hits, 4 tackles for loss, 2 sacks, and a walk defended. These numbers are impressive, fixed that he didn’t commencement immoderate games this twelvemonth and moreover topped his stats from past season, erstwhile he started 16 games for nan Arizona Cardinals.
Pro Football Focus gave Lopez an wide people of 68.7, ranking him 31st retired of 134 protect linemen. His walk unreserved people was 63.6 (60th), and his tally defense people was 68.9 (18th).
Lopez said he’s unfastened to coming backmost to nan Lions adjacent season. “I emotion this spot for what it did for maine arsenic a person, arsenic a player, arsenic everything, man. It’s grown connected me. I’ve grown truthful overmuch being here.”
However, nan Lions person respective free-agent decisions ahead, and Lopez said he hasn’t talked pinch nan squad astir a caller statement yet.
Still, from nan relationships he’s built successful nan locker room to playing his champion shot nether Dan Campbell, Lopez intelligibly wants to make Detroit his home.
“Now we return nan adjacent step, and wherever that leads me, I’m beyond blessed and fortunate,” Lopez said. “And if this is nan past time I locomotion successful this building, I loved each infinitesimal of it, man. I loved nan group and squad I was portion of, and I didn’t return a 2nd for granted. And I knew wherever I was erstwhile I was there. My feet were wherever they belonged, and it was awesome, man. I loved it.”
- Offensive coordinator options to way for nan Detroit Lions
- Watch Michigan baker create astir epic, life-size Detroit Lions cake
- NFL 2026 offseason calendar: Key dates to watch for nan Detroit Lions
- Lions willing successful erstwhile Detroit QB for violative coordinator job, per report
- Falcons target cardinal Lions beforehand agency designer for apical executive role
