DeShon Elliott Reveals Encouraging Reason He Joined Lions

As the Detroit Lions have been rebuilding their team since last offseason, folks have been wondering when things are going to start looking up for the team in terms of creating a winning culture. After listening to a newcomer speak to the media for the first time, however, it seems as if those days could be around sooner rather than later.

DeShon Elliott made the choice to jump from the Baltimore Ravens to the Lions. To some, that would be quite the controversial move given the fact that one team has been way more successful than the other. No matter to Elliott, though, who saw up close the track the Lions are on last season.

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As he explained to the media including DetroitLions.com reporter Tim Twentyman on Thursday, April 21, Detroit’s game against Baltimore last year proved to Elliott that the Lions were a team coming up, especially given how hard they played for their coaching staff.

“DeShon Elliott says a big part of the reason he came to Detroit was seeing how hard the Lions played for their coaches last year when the Ravens played here. He said it was easy to see from the outside just much the players loved playing for these coaches,” Twentyman tweeted.

It’s easy to see that Elliott already loves his fit within the Motor City, and understood from the start what kind of team he was getting into. That’s the good news, especially given how many questions there have been about the Lions and Dan Campbell already early into his tenure.

Thankfully for Lions fans, the culture the team worked hard to establish throughout a challenging 2021 season seems to have taken hold. It has been a selling point for multiple free agents including Elliott as well as wideout DJ Chark.

With brighter days ahead, it seems that the team is pushing closer to their goal of changing hearts and minds in terms of signing in Detroit. The new culture and coaching staff could be the biggest reason why, which has to be exciting for fans.

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Elliott’s Hard Working Mindset Fits Detroit Already

From the start, it was clear the way Elliott handled himself would show as a major fit for the Lions. Thus far, early in workouts, that’s been the case. The safety has reported and already looks like a strong piece to the puzzle for the 2022 season. He’s walking the walk after talking the talk as he showed with a recent tweet.

“Leave your ego at the door,” Elliott said in a tweet, a good reminder to the type of culture that any organization likes to have.

That idea shows what the Lions are getting with their player. Having Elliott in the mix is interesting given he is a solid player with some solid tangibles and intangibles as a player. He was released this offseason in Baltimore, and the Ravens typically don’t give up on young, talented players. Elliott has suffered injuries in three of his first four seasons in the league, which could have led to Baltimore’s impatience with him as a player. In 2018, he broke his forearm. In 2019, a knee injury landed him on injured reserve. Late in November of 2021, a biceps and pectoral injury ended his season.

In spite of that, providing things have checked out health-wise, the Lions could get an intriguing player that has plenty of good football ahead of him and is very young. Elliott was anointed the Ravens’ starting safety in 2020 and played there through 2021. To that end, he may have the experience and mindset the Lions crave at the position.

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Elliott’s Career Stats & Highlights

In terms of his game, Elliott is a solid young player and when he has been healthy, he has packed a major punch on the field for Baltimore. After being a sixth-round pick of the Ravens in 2017, Elliott has put up 109 tackles, 3.5 sacks and 1 interception. He also has 7 passes defended and 2 forced fumbles to his credit when playing for Baltimore, sometimes in a starting role from 2020 to 2021.

Here’s a look at some of Elliott’s best work on the field:

Nicknamed “The Joker,” Elliott has become a fixture in the Ravens’ secondary when he has played and is a solid player who has youth on his side. If he can get the injury situation figured out and prove he is healthy, he could manage to become a potential free agent steal in this free agency class.

It sounds as if Elliott is thrilled to be in Detroit, which is something that could serve him well this season.

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