New captain Grant Stuard was clearly destined to be a Detroit Lion

The Detroit Lions don't make a lot of big splashes in free agency. But even on that scale of less well-known players they deem to be a fit, linebacker Grant Stuard easily brought reactions along the line of "who the (bleep) is that?" when he was signed to a one-year deal in March.

Stuard was "Mr. Irrelevant" in the 2021 NFL Draft, pick No. 259 overall by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He spent the past three seasons with the Indianapolis Colts, mostly as a special teamer with five starts last season. While he didn't start against the Lions in Week 12 last year, his new team was able to get a look at him across 27 defensive snaps and 17 special teams snaps in that game.

When the Lions announced their captains going into the season, it was easy to tab who they would be and that mostly came to fruition. Joining Jared Goff, Alex Anzalone, Penei Sewell, Amon-Ra St. Brown and Aidan Hutchinson with a "C" on their chest is Stuard, who is replacing the departed Jalen Reeves-Maybin as a captain.

Stuard is part of a deep Lions' linebacking corps. So the clearest way he'll make his mark this year is on special teams, but he is lined up for a unique role there. He got some run as a kickoff returner during the preseason, and on the unofficial depth chart heading into Week 1 against the Green Bay Packers he is listed as the No. 1 kickoff returner.

Come Sunday afternoon, we'll see how that depth chart standing holds up. But it would not be surprising to see Stuard actually returning kickoffs.

Grant Stuard was destined to be a Detroit Lion

Back in early August, Dan Miller of Fox2 interviewed Stuard and asked him what went into his decision to sign with the Lions. He had multiple suitors, including some willing to make him a starter, but...

"I had to ask myself, how good do I want to be? How much do I want to challenge myself? And if I want to be the best I can be, I need to go where the best is", Stuard said.

Stuard said he was drawn to the Lions by a simple idea. They tackle in practice, and he acknowledged tackling as "one of the weaknesses of my game."

"Before I arrived here," Stuard said.... "I tackled like a defensive back. I tackled at the legs. I’m all physical and running through the thighs and all that, but it’s not a linebacker tackle. Like, I had 19 tackles against Miami (last year), every one of them was on somebody’s thigh board. I didn’t run through anybody’s face. So I wasn’t being evaluated properly, to me, as a backer when I hit free agency because, yeah, I have a lot of stats and all that and I’m running fast, but I’m like a DB in the box."

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Beyond fixing what he saw as a big weakness in his game, Stuard revealed the tipping point for his decision to sign with the Lions.

"So for me, knowing that they tackle here, that it’s physical here, and they’re good, having that conversation with my wife, I was like, man, I think we should do it", Stuard said. "It came down to between here and another team and she was just like, 'Every time you talk about Detroit, it seems like you want to do that. You should go there.'"

When it comes to any move that is made, since talent is often not a great differentiator, Dan Campbell and Brad Holmes consistently profess prioritizing players who "fit us." Stuard clearly fits the Lions, as evidenced by his mentality and the fact his new teammates voted him as a captain.