Detroit Lions: Nick Bawden to IR, solidifying Nick Bellore at Fullback
By Rob Kish
The Detroit Lions signed linebacker Freddie Bishop, signaling a permanent move to fullback for the former linebacker, Nick Bellore.
By now, everybody has heard that the Detroit Lions placed DE Ziggy Ansah on the PUP list and Nick Bawden on the IR. Lost in that news was the signing of linebacker Freddie Bishop.
Here’s a little primer on Bishop from the Detroit Lions official site:
"Bishop comes to Detroit after spending the past two seasons (2016-17) with the New York Jets, where he appeared in five games in 2017 with 10 tackles and one fumble recovery. Prior to New York, Bishop spent three seasons in the CFL with the Calgary Stampeders, appearing in 29 games during that span."
Bishop played his college ball at Western Michigan and signed with the Lions in 2013 as an undrafted rookie free agent.
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The fact that the Lions signed a linebacker here is significant. It says that Nick Bellore will be the full-time fullback this season. As a converted linebacker, he did enough to warrant the Lions keeping him around. He even got a slight pay increase for his services on the offensive side of the ball.
In a time when the number of fullbacks is dwindling and the line between tight end and fullback is blurred by the H-back, the Lions picked Bawden in the seventh round. That pick is one of the reasons the Lions run game figures to look much different this season. Spending a pick on a fullback, regardless of the round it was in, shows commitment to opening up holes inside. Something that didn’t happen nearly enough over the last few seasons. There were only three fullbacks at the combine, Bawden, Dimitri Flowers, and Donnie Ernsberger. Ernsberger is now listed as a tight end on the Bucs site.
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If anybody needed any more proof or convincing that Bellore would be an offensive player this season, there it is. He will be the Detroit Lions fullback, assuming that they have one in 2018.