3. When Fipp came to Detroit from Philadelphia five years ago to be Campbell’s special teams coordinator, he didn’t have an experienced returner he could trust on the roster. Fipp said Thursday he remembers the front office coming to him about a free agent wide receiver from the Tennessee Titans named Kalif Raymond to take a look at. Fipp went back and said he’d love to get Raymond in Detroit. Five years later, Raymond is the all-time franchise leader in punt return yards, breaking Mel Gray’s record last week in Minnesota.
4. Sheppard admitted the loss of All-Pro safety Kerby Joseph for all but five games this season played a factor in the amount of explosives allowed by Detroit’s defense. Sheppard called Joseph the defense’s ‘Angel in the Outfield” in terms of his ability to man the deep part of the field and get his hands on footballs, make plays and be a sure tackler as the last line of defense. When Joseph is on the field, Detroit’s takeaways go up and opponent explosive plays go down. Detroit has had seven different players start at safety this season.
5. Morton seems excited about the player rookie wide receiver Isaac TeSlaa can become moving forward. TeSlaa has six touchdowns on the season and has proven to be a reliable target for quarterback Jared Goff, especially in the red zone. TeSlaa is proving he can wear a lot of hats in this offense and play a number of different spots. Morton thinks Detroit’s receiving trio of Amon-Ra St. Brown, Jameson Williams and TeSlaa can be special next season alongside running back Jahmyr Gibbs and tight end Sam LaPorta.