Young's time is done

Detroit Lions attempt to end a a four game loosing streak when they travel to Green Bay this weekend. It was three weeks ago when the reverse fixture took place that Titus Young finally drew his last breath as a Detroit Lion.

In the game the second year pro was not happy with how many times he was being targeted and so he took it upon himself to intentionally line up multiple times in the wrong position. This then boiled over to an argument between wide receivers coach and offensive coordinator Scoot Linehan resulting with Young being benched for the remainder of the game.

This is not the first time Young's actions have cost the team in fact he has had several incidents where he has not seen eye to eye with the coaching staff or his teammates. Most notably in the pre-season where he was banned from the team facility for throwing a punch towards safety and defensive leader Louis Delmas. This is not a new thing to Young he came out of Boise State as a productive and explosive receiver but also with red flags surrounding his character and lack of maturity.

The lining up in the wrong position was the icing on the cake for coach Schwartz as he suspended Young for one week. He was not seen at the Lions next fixture against the Texans and was not allowed at practise. Young returned to practise the following week in preparation for the Colts game but was not selected in the 46 man squad and was told to stay away from the stadium. This week it has been announced he is to have an operation on his knee and so puts an end to all the speculation if he will play again this season.

However what about the long term future surrounding Young. In my opinion Young has no chance of playing for the Lions again, he has lost all the respect of the locker room and most notably the leaders of the locker room. The coaching staff appear resigned to the fact Young will not be on the roster as well. I believe the Lions will not find a trading partner either as everyone is not only aware of his character concerns but also that he has no future in Detroit. This will ultimately lead to cutting him in a time when the Lions needed him to step up. Next season Nate and Broyles will be returning from surgery and so will take time to get up to full speed which would have given Young a great opportunity. Now the Lions will need to be active yet again in the off season to find some depth at the wide receiver.

I want to finish with this final point not as a Lions fan (which of course I am) but as someone when young growing up all I wanted to do was play professional sport. If I had been given the opportunity Young had been given I would have done everything to remain at that level and not done anything to harm. I have also played in hundreds of sports teams and not once would I even consider doing something to hurt the team just to make a point. It therefore hurts me as a sports fan to see someone waste the amazing talented they have and opportunity they have been given. The Lions will be better of without Young but Young will also be better of without the lions, he could easily end up at some where like New England or Baltimore where their great leadership can help him mature because their is no doubt he is a talented player.