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No Lion Tamer, Danny Shelton is Job-Hunting after Drawing Detroit Release

Former Husky defensive tackle seeks fourth NFL team in seven seasons.
Rheinhold Matay/USA TODAY Sports

And then there was one.

The Detroit Lions, which had one of the biggest repositories of former University of Washington football players, will release defensive tackle Danny Shelton in a cap-cutting move, according to several news outlets.

The 6-foot-2, 339-pound Shelton was one of four one-time Huskies on the Detroit roster when last season began, tied with the Arizona Cardinals for having the most UW players on an NFL team.

However, wide receiver Marvin Hall Jr. was let go during the season and has resurfaced with the Cleveland Browns. Cornerback Desmond Trufant was dropped in recent and reportedly will join the Chicago Bears as a free agent.

With Shelton team-hunting again, all that's left from the Husky pipeline to the Motor City is undrafted tight end Hunter Bryant, who will return for a second season.

A former first-round draft pick taken 12th in the 2015 draft, the big man has played in the NFL for six seasons, the first three with the Cleveland Browns, two with the New England Patriots and that one with the Lions.

He's started 72 of 87 games in his pro career, 12 of 12 for Detroit, and accumulated 247 tackles, 16 for loss. He appeared in Super Bowl LIII for New England.

For the Huskies, the Auburn, Washington, product started 41 games over four seasons and was named a first-team All-Pac-12 and All-American as a senior in 2014. 

He shouldn't be out of work long. 

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Dan Raley
DAN RALEY

Dan Raley has worked for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Atlanta Journal-Constitution and Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, as well as for MSN.com and Boeing, the latter as a global aerospace writer. His sportswriting career spans four decades and he's covered University of Washington football and basketball during much of that time. In a working capacity, he's been to the Super Bowl, the NBA Finals, the MLB playoffs, the Masters, the U.S. Open, the PGA Championship and countless Final Fours and bowl games.