Q&A: Why Grant Stuard Challenged Himself By Signing With Lions

The Detroit Lions' addition of linebacker Grant Stuard strengthens their defensive lineup, which could impact sports betting as betting odds may shift in favor of the Lions given his proven ability on special teams and run defense.

The Detroit Lions have gotten a boost at the linebacker position with the presence of veteran Grant Stuard. In his fifth NFL season, Stuard has given the team a spark as both a defender and a special teams player.

He's shown some return ability, as well as good coverage on kick and punt units, and reliable run defense as a linebacker.

Stuard caught up with Detroit Lions OnSI following practice Monday to discuss acclimating with the Lions, the injury to teammate Morice Norris and much more.

What was your reaction to Morice Norris' injury in Friday's game?

Stuard: "Just one of those things, some guys have seen it before, some guys haven’t. Sometimes, it’s kind of what can come with playing the way that we play. He had good technique on the play, and sometimes that’s how it can happen. For us, we just pray for him and hope that he was all good. When we saw him breathe and move around and all that, we felt a lot better about it. He’s back in the building, back lively and everything. So yeah, feel good about his progress.”

Had you ever seen a situation like that before involving a teammate?

Stuard: “I’ve seen it before in the NFL, college teammates of mine and stuff like that. As soon as you see any sort of limb movement, everything’s good.”

What is it like transitioning from being a football player with a violent mindset to a normal citizen when you're not on the field?

Stuard: “I haven’t been put in a situation where I have to be a normal citizen. I go home. Even conversing with someone in a non-football manner is something that is few and far between since my career started. I think that whenever the game is said and done, maybe I’ll be able to network at the business joint or something. But for me right now, ball is ball is ball is ball. For me, I kind of stay in that mindset all the time. I’ve got a son and another boy on the way, so I can really stay in that mode when I get home. Of course, man, being able to decompress with wifey and stuff like that, watch some TV, playing some games, that’s always great. But to answer your question, I haven’t had to do that. I see guys that go on the podcast, or maybe they can go train with other athletes from other teams. It’s hard for me to do that, it’s hard for me to do that because I’m like, ‘You’re the enemy.’ So I mostly train by myself.”

What made Detroit the perfect landing spot for you in free agency?

Stuard: “I think that it was a simple decision once you understood how everything was being run here and what they care about here and what the standard is here. I knew it was gonna be a lot harder to make the team. I knew it was gonna be a lot harder to find a role. I knew it was gonna be a lot harder to learn the playbook. I had a couple other teams I could’ve went to where it could’ve been more welcoming, or a more vanilla situation, and my whole thing was, man, I’m going into year five. I feel confident that I can play on somebody’s team, so why not take a swing on playing on a team that I think best suits me, that would allow me to be held to the highest standard.

It’s been a journey as I’ve been here. Sometimes I feel like I’m the man, sometimes I feel like I’ve got more work to do than everybody in the planet, dog. So today was a little bit of both. I really appreciate the way that you’re coached here, the standard you’re held to here, the opportunity they provide. For me, it’s all about capitalizing on that opportunity and making sure I’m not a repeat mistake guy, and just learning, learning from the guys in front of me. Knowing that my reps might not be as high as Anzo’s or D Barnes or something like that.

Being able to see them and take that mental rep and apply that when I get my opportunity. Because one thing about here is that you’ll get (an opportunity), so just be ready.”

What are some examples of moments of that up-and-down mindset, and how do you handle it?

Stuard: “It’s just one of those things, man. You’re learning new things, and I thought that my learning speed was a little faster than it has been. You play in the same defense for three years, we had a very small amount of calls, very vanilla. So coming here, where you feel like you’re studying your tail off, you feel like you’re watching all the plays, I’m doing everything I can before we get out here to make sure that I feel prepared mentally, physically, spiritually, everything.

And then, they do something that maybe we talked about in the meeting one time but it wasn’t on the install, and then the route combination comes and it’s something else. So all the little bitty intricacies of the defense (are) something that I would say I'm not a master at yet.

That's been my goal, mentally. Physically, I just try to set a goal every day physically, because that's a little bit easier to focus on. And so today, for instance, my goal was just to get off blocks with violence. There will be times in the game where I violently attack a blocker, then I see the ball get tackled, and I kind of just stopped playing. But this blocker doesn't know that, so it looks like maybe he's blocking me three, four yards down the field, when, in reality, the ball has been on the ground, but just making sure I'm attacking and getting off with violence as well. So today I focused on that.

I feel like I improved on that, maybe took a step back to some other places. It's one of those situations where it's never as good or as bad as you think when you watch the tape. So just kind of get back to the drawing board and see how I can capitalize over that. And knowing that, against Miami these next two days, it's probably going to be a little bit more vanilla because they want to see compete, who can win. So I’m excited about that.”

What's your mindset heading into joint practices on Wednesday against the Dolphins?

Stuard: “I don’t know if they’re ready, I’m gonna keep it a stack. I’ve played at other places and played against that team last year, and joint practiced against that team twice when I was in Tampa. I don’t know if they practice how we practice. I’m excited to see our guys for sure, and I’m excited to get out there and do something against somebody else, who doesn’t know every in and out of what we’re doing.”

Detroit Lions Grant Stuard discusses signing with team, finding a role in 2025 NFL season.

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