Impact of Linebacker Grant Stuard Departing Detroit Lions

The Detroit Lions have lost a significant special teams contributor in free agency.

According to multiple reports, linebacker Grant Stuard is signing a two-year free agent contract with the Los Angeles Rams that is worth up to $5.05 million.

Signed last offseason after a stint with the Indianapolis Colts, Stuard led the team in special snaps (375) and appeared in all 17 games. He recorded 19 tackles.

The remaining linebackers on the roster include Jack Campbell, Derrick Barnes, Malcolm Rodriguez, and Trevor Nowaske, who re-signed with the team after not being tendered a restricted free agent contract.

During training camp, Stuard had the opportunity to return kicks, but did not end up winning the job.

“I was like, ‘Wait a minute, like this looks pretty good right here.’ So that’s what really started the idea and I was like, ‘Man, I’m not sure who the guy is going to be.' This is a bigger body guy, physical. Looked like he has some natural skillset to do it, and then we fumbled the opening kickoff," said special teams coordinator Dave Fipp. "No, but he showed a bunch of great things and then it said to us, ‘Okay, now we got to invest more time in him, to be fair to him and help him with ball security, and stuff like that.’ But it’s not worth the investment because of what he’s shown. So, we’re excited about him.”

Stuard was popular in the Lions locker room, largely due to his energy and relentless effort at practice. He expressed he would often pick the brains of his teammates to pick up anything he could to add to his game, whether at linebacker or on special teams.

“From Day 1, I just put my head down and tried to learn from guys like Kalif (Raymond), David (Montgomery), and just continued to take reps and continued to get better. Working in different weather like today (rain), it was different," said Stuard, via MLive. "Taking the gloves off, just realizing different little things and understanding how to set up the blocks. I’m a guy who kind of just wants to run through folks.

“But maybe I could have got to the 50 in the game against Miami, if I had seen the little crease. But I was like, ‘Ah, I can get right here. This little bitty hole.’ Just the reps. The reps and the reps and the reps are just something that I have been grateful for.”