Detroit Lions

Staying out of trouble for the next month won't guarantee the Lions 10 victories in the coming season.

(Until training camp starts at the end of July, Lions Lowdown will post five times a week using the list format.) With more turnover in all three phases than last season, training camp will feature good competition. Here are the top five competitive positions. 1. Right cornerback opposite Chris Houston. Darius Slay was drafted in the second round, but he’s not been 100 percent yet due to knee surgery. He should be ready to go by training camp where he will battle veteran Ron Bartell and three corners who were rookies last season — Bill Bentley, Jonte Green and Chris Greenwood. 2. Linebacker to replace Justin Durant who was not re-signed. Expect Ashlee Palmer to have the edge due to experience but he’ll have to fight off second-year linebackers Travis Lewis and Tahir Whitehead. 3. Right tackle will be a battle between Corey Hilliard and Jason Fox. Hilliard has five starts in his career which is five more than Fox who is finally healthy. 4. Right guard is a toss-up right now. Bill Nagy should be a favorite but still hasn’t recovered from ankle injury last season. Strong contenders include Larry Warford, Leroy Harris, Jake Scott, LaAdrian Waddle and Austin Holtz. 5. Plenty of wide receivers on the roster, but it’s wide open after Calvin Johnson, Nate Burleson and Ryan Broyles. If Patrick Edwards can stay healthy and has a training camp like last season he should nail down one of the spots. He was a standout at OTAs (organized team activities). (Follow @PaulaPasche on Twitter. Order her book, “100 Things Lions Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die’’ here. It’s also available at bookstores.)

OK, dogpile me if you want, you voracious criticizers, but it's a slow news time until Camp and I'm already tired of the Lem Barney thread and the NFL.com Under/Over-rated vid. So, what would you suggest to keep discussion going until the pads come on? For illustration purposes only, how about these possible battles: -Moore vs Lewis for 3rd QB slot? -Thomas vs Spurlock vs Edwards vs Whoever for 4th WR ? -Williams vs Veldman vs Fauria for 3rd TE ? -Messina vs Hepburn vs Cory Greenwood vs Whoever for 6th LB ? -Green vs Bentley vs Chris Greenwood for 4th CB? If you don't like the assumptions (like with Darius Slay at CB for example), just remember I had to make them in order to talk Backups, and to whet your interest in the subject. If you're not interested, then give us something better to chew, OK? Poll is attached after the jump, referring to position battles only, no names there. Comment to set me straight, explain your assumptions behind your choice, or whatever. I say we get back to .500 ball or slightly better this year, with 2014 being a Year to Remember. OK, dogpile me if you want, you voracious criticizers, but it's a slow news time until Camp and I'm already tired of the Lem Barney thread and the NFL.com Under/Over-rated vid. So, what would you suggest to keep discussion going until the pads come on? For illustration purposes only, how about these possible battles: -Moore vs Lewis for 3rd QB slot? -Thomas vs Spurlock vs Edwards vs Whoever for 4th WR ? -Williams vs Veldman vs Fauria for 3rd TE ? -Messina vs Hepburn vs Cory Greenwood vs Whoever for 6th LB ? -Green vs Bentley vs Chris Greenwood for 4th CB? If you don't like the assumptions (like with Darius Slay at CB for example), just remember I had to make them in order to talk Backups, and to whet your interest in the subject. If you're not interested, then give us something better to chew, OK? Poll is attached after the jump, referring to position battles only, no names there. Comment to set me straight, explain your assumptions behind your choice, or whatever. I say we get back to .500 ball or slightly better this year, with 2014 being a Year to Remember. Poll What Backup Position Camp Battles Interest You Most? Third QB ? Fourth WR ? Third TE ? Sixth LB ? Fourth CB ? Other ? 0 votes | Results

Jason Hanson has now been retired for more than two months. This year, for a change, he didn't have OTAs or a minicamp to attend, and he didn't have to spend time taking part in the Detroit Lions' offseason training program. It was a big change for someone who spent more than two decades in the NFL, and Hanson told the Detroit News this week that retirement is "bittersweet right now" since he's still getting used to not being an NFL player. Hanson also said that retirement "hasn't been too strange yet." It will really probably hit him that he's retired when training camp arrives and he isn't playing. That will be the biggest change to his routine in the summer since he'll get to spend time with his family instead of worrying about camp. He also won't have to worry as much about his nagging heel injury, which has continued to be an issue at times. "It still bugs me, and actually I get really excited when it bugs me," he said. "And then the days when I’ll work out and I feel good, that’s when I swing like, ‘What’d I do?’ "But it just isn’t right. … I’ve retired. I don’t have any plans of coming back." Hanson may feel good on certain days, but he's not going to pull a Brett Favre on us. He seems comfortable with the next phase of his life, and the Lions seem comfortable moving forward with David Akers and Havard Rugland competing for the starting kicker job.

DE Ziggy Ansah and G Larry Warford participated in a Detroit Lions youth football camp at Ford Field this week.

Two current marquee players on the Detroit Lions made the final cut for our series. Who are most overrated and underrated players in franchise history? Read on to find out.

The Detroit Lions added extra depth at offensive guard and center a couple weeks ago by signing Leroy Harris and Jake Scott. They have not yet added extra depth at offensive tackle, though. For now, the Lions seem content going forward with Riley Reiff, Corey Hilliard, Jason Fox, LaAdrian Waddle and Austin Holtz. Reiff is penciled in as the starter at left tackle, while Hilliard and Fox are set to compete for the starting job at right tackle. Waddle and Holtz are simply trying to make the team. If the Lions do decide that they need to add veteran depth at offensive tackle at some point, might they take a look at Eric Winston? He's No. 4 on USA Today's list of the top available free agents, and the Lions are actually listed as the best fit for him. 4. RT Eric Winston — Given his apparent price tag, Winston may be perfectly content to wait for a team to suffer a catastrophic injury or realize that it has a performance issue at right tackle. Chances are, he'll have some choices by early August if he's still unsigned. Best fit: Lions The only way I could see Winston ending up in Detroit, as the quote above suggests, is if there's an injury or it becomes clear that Fox and Hilliard aren't the answer at right tackle. If the Lions weren't happy with Fox and Hilliard, they probably would have made a move already. So unless there's an injury or Fox and Hilliard are just completely ineffective in the preseason, it seems unlikely that Winston will end up in Detroit. If a scenario does arise where the Lions decide they want to add Winston, chances are they will need extra cap space to actually sign him. He said in April that he wants something in the range of $3-4 million, and the Lions currently only have $1.96 million in cap space. A new deal for Matthew Stafford would likely free up enough money to bring in Winston, but the Lions are hoping right now that a move like that won't be necessary.

Detroit Lions president Tom Lewand center of latest NFL versus Russia comedy of the week.

Gossip website Bossip is claiming NFL safety Kerry Rhodes is saying he could be the father of Kim Kardashian's baby girl, and not Kanye West. The site says Rhodes sent text messages to some friends making the claims.

Havard Rugland might not win a spot on the Detroit Lions' 53-man roster, but anyone who saw him kick this spring knows he's more than just a sideshow.