Kalief Raymond has been playing for the Lions since 2021, but he became a Lion before that. From 2016 to ’18, Raymond was released five times by four franchises. Well, he was an undrafted 5’8″ receiver/returner from Holy Cross. Those guys are cut off. He says now that, “No matter what, there’s going to be a bubble of preconceived notions because of his height”. But then he says this:
“It’s not their job to see it differently. My job is to show them they’re wrong.”
“I was always cutting for a reason, and it was never the same reason twice,” says Raymond.
He did what many players don’t: He accepted that the coach who fired him was right. Then he started working. The goal was to eliminate all those causes, so some teams Was To keep him.
Raymond eventually stuck with the Titans. He returned kicks and punts and caught 18 passes over two seasons. In one game, against the Colts, he ran a route so well that he thought, “Man, I can do this.“The play didn’t even result in a reception. But that was the moment Raymond knew he was supposed to do it.
Sign up. SI NFL Newsletter. Receive MMQB’s free newsletter. dark
“[There was]no way to make a sound anyway,” says Raymond, “but that’s what I was working on.”
After the 2020 season, he became a free agent. Lions coach Dan Campbell called Raymond. Campbell mentioned Raymond’s comeback skills, and then…
“I saw this route against the Colts, man,” Campbell told Raymond. “I was like, ‘Oh, this guy can play.'”
Raymond was stunned.
“what are the odds?” He says now.
Very good indeed.
There are two types of franchises in the NFL. One features Patrick Mahomes. All the rest are of other types.
To make the Super Bowl, those other franchises generally need good health and some good bounce back. But mostly, they need opportunities: Keep playing in January, and eventually you’ll reach February.
The Lions, who host the Packers on Thanksgiving, are 7-4 and in third place in the NFC North. In Week 11, the Eagles showed that a great defensive front can stop the Lions’ high-powered attack – especially now, star tight end Sam LaPorta is out for the season.
But this year’s Lions have shown why the franchise has staying power. Winning consistently in the NFL requires more than just a scheme or a core of talent. You have to master brainstorming.
You’ll have to constantly find new talent, incorporate new planning concepts and adjust to your personnel – all while maintaining the identity that helped you win in the first place.
How tricky it can be. Lions linebacker Alex Anzalone, a brilliant, multi-dimensional player, is the heart of the defense. Anzalone was a Saint when Campbell was an assistant in New Orleans, and when Campbell took the Lions job, Detroit immediately signed Anzalone. If you listed the players who established the Lions culture, Anzalone might be No. 1.
This summer, Anzalone was expected to receive a contract extension. He didn’t find even one. Anzalone expressed his anger publicly. Singh remained firm. Anzalone will turn 32 next September, and smart franchises don’t pay 32-year-old linebackers unless they have to.
According to multiple reports, the Lions added $250,000 to Anzalone’s 2025 salary, increasing it to $6.25 million. They’ve signed nearly every extension-eligible member of their core for more money than Anzalone made as a Lion: Aidan Hutchinson, Penei Sewell, Amon-Ra St. Brown, Jared Goff and Kerby Joseph.
You and I understand that age should be a factor in these decisions. But we’re not Alex Anzalone. The Lions effectively showed Anzalone that they may not need him next year, but they do need him now. NFL teams have to deal with these situations – not only by making smart decisions, but by managing the consequences. Every championship-winning team has some key players unhappy with their contracts.
Mastering brainstorming requires constant, ongoing evaluation and reevaluation. Leos live excellently because they know what they want and how to recognize it, and don’t let anything take them away from them.
In the 2023 draft, the Lions used the No. 12 pick on running back Jahmir Gibbs and the 18th pick on linebacker Jack Campbell, and critics said they did not understand positional value. On draft night in 2024, Lions general manager Brad Holmes wore a “Positional Villain” sweatshirt. This year, he wore the HWS crossed out one. H, W and S stand for height, weight and speed.
The message, all along: The Lions produces people who know how to play football and who know how to live for it.
“The way we understand and process football here is a lot different than most teams,” says defensive tackle Aleem McNeil. “There’s no mystery to it. We understand it at a different clip than most people. We all understand football, and football matters to us. So I think that’s really it. Football makes sense to everybody here.”
Raymond says the Lions’ locker room is full of people who “care about understanding why. We have all kinds of plans and things going on. Care to study one more night? Care to take one more lift?” This means coaches can adapt their plan from week to week and trust that the players will execute it. One reason the Patriots won so many games under Bill Belichick is because Belichick valued football intelligence.
McNeil also says something else: College players spend most of their time on campus, but “in the offseason you get better here on your own. If you’re working out and you don’t like the game, you’re not going to get better.”
“Playing hard and giving your full 100% and being dialed-in and detailed, it’s universal,” says McNeil. “You go into any building, and everyone has the same kind of standards. When you come here, and your coach enforces it like that, it’s really nothing, because it’s already how you are, it’s already how you’re wired as a person.”
Mastering the churn means that when two of your coordinators leave for head coaching jobs, as Campbell did last winter, you have to replace them. And keep evaluating. Campbell hired John Morton as his new offensive coordinator, then removed Morton from play-calling duties after nine games and began calling plays himself. it takes some courageAnd locker room trust, and Campbell has both — but mostly, it requires a head coach who is good at calling plays.
Campbell has received considerable credit for his emotional intelligence, but he is also a brilliant football mind.
“He sees everything, man,” says Raymond. “He keeps an eye on everything, every rep, every rep, every exercise, every exercise. Everything he does is thought over 100 times. He doesn’t just do something on a whim. He’s probably thought about the rights and wrongs of it more times than you can think of in your mind.”
Campbell also tells the truth. He did it with Morton, and he did it shortly after Brian Branch punched Kansas City’s JuJu Smith-Schuster in September: “I like Brian Branch, but what he did is inexcusable, and it will not be accepted here.” Last week, a reporter asked Campbell why the Lions don’t commit many pass-interference penalties. He could have lobbied for more. Instead, he said that St. Brown “is so strong that he can get himself out of a pretty good situation. A few other guys, a tug, and you really notice it.”
A lot of football coaches won’t tell the truth. Many of them are honest, decent people in their everyday lives. But professionally, they are so tightly knit that they avoid anything they can’t control. Campbell speaks the truth day after day, week after week. McNeil also says in the weight room, “We lift hard, we lift well. We don’t just do stuff that doesn’t make sense.”
If you watch the Lions on Thanksgiving, you’ll see St. Brown blocking like he’s in danger of being cut. You’ll see Sewell beat defenders as if he’s playing for a contract extension, even though he’s already signed one. You’ll see Anzalone playing like he signed a contract extension, even though he hasn’t.
You’ll also see a punt returner who rarely calls for a fair catch. Raymond is just like everyone else: he constantly thinks he can do more.
More NFL on Sports Illustrated
<a href=