The Detroit Lions released William Powell, a practice-squad running back, on Tuesday morning to make room on their practice squad for safety Jerome Couplin. It’s the type of move that teams make numerous times throughout the NFL season, but it had to sting more for Powell that he was forced to fly home one day after arriving in London.
The Lions are in London this week preparing to take on the Atlanta Falcons at Wembley Stadium. The team flew in on Tuesday and sent Powell packing a day later.
“It’s a difficult thing to do, and you certainly would not want to do it — a guy just gets here and, within 48 hours, he’s heading back home,” Lions coach Jim Caldwell said, via Dave Birkett of The Detroit Free Press. “But that’s kind of the nature of our business. The guys understand it, and I think, if you’re up front and you tell them exactly why and what the reasons are and those kinds of things, it’s a bitter pill to swallow, but they understand.”
We know, we know — football is a business. The Lions like Couplin’s long-term potential, and they always intended to bring him back after waiving him Monday to make room for tight end Kellen Davis. With Eric Ebron and Joe Fauria both nursing injuries, Davis could be needed on Sunday.
It’s still cold. Caldwell added that the team made the move in London because they need to be at their “best” in getting a look from “both sides” during practice. Ebron and Fauria may not play Sunday but they have not been officially ruled out, so the move couldn’t wait. While it wasn’t quite as harsh as what the Patriots did to this player, it still sucks for Powell no matter how you look at it.
