Lions sign 12 players to futures deals

The Lions have signed 12 players to futures contracts.

The list includes: receiver Patrick Edwards, cornerback Lionel Smith, guard Rodney Austin, cornerback Conroy Black, receiver Troy Burrell, linebacker Carmen Messina, running back Devin Moore, cornerback Ross Weaver, receiver Lance Long, receiver Dominique Curry, receiver Terrence Austin and receiver Chastin West.

Curry spent time with the Lions in training camp and Long was with the team for a stretch during the regular season.

Terrence Austin spent 2010 and 2011 with the Redskins, playing in 18 games with 15 catches for 184 yards.

West played in 12 games with the Jaguars in 2011 and had 13 catches for 163 yards and two touchdowns.

Lions begin the makings of their practice squad

Rodney Austin played his college football at small Elon University in North Carolina, but he made a big impression on Lions coaches in training camp.

“For a guy, small college that size, he’s made a lot of positive impressions on us,” Lions offensive coordinator Scott Linehan said of Austin before the Raiders preseason game. “Whether he’s playing guard or center, to show us that he can really take on the center role some and do that as well as play guard, which we feel is a really good position for him.

“We’ll see, but you know, after the first three weeks in pads and the first two preseason games, he’s one young guy to watch.”

His steady play through the preseason wasn’t enough to earn Austin a spot on the initial 53-man roster in a crowded offense line group, but it did win him one the team’s eight spots on the practice squad.

Austin cleared waivers Saturday and was signed to squad.

The Lions also added linebacker Carmen Messina, cornerback Ross Weaver, running back Stephfon Green and receiver Patrick Edwards to their practice squad Saturday.

Messina had a good training camp and preseason but was beat out for the seventh linebacker spot on the 53-man roster by second-year player Doug Hogue.

The Lions have three spots remaining on their practice squad.

Lions particularly excited about a couple undrafted free agents

The work didn’t stop for Lions general manager Martin Mayhew or president Tom Lewand when the draft ended Saturday night. The Lions instantly hit the phones to try and sign undrafted rookies to free agent deals.

With rookie mini-camp beginning in nine days, the Lions have agreed to terms with a number of rookie free agents, according to various reports.

The Lions won’t officially announce their undrafted rookie free agent signings until those players have taken a physical and signed their contracts. However, in an interview with Mike O’Hara and Ken Brown on WJR last night, Mayhew did single out Boise State quarterback Kellen Moore and Houston receiver Patrick Edwards as two players he’s particularly excited about.

“The winningest quarterback ever, 50-3,” Mayhew said of Moore. “The guy is very talented (and a) very cerebral quarterback and understands the game, son of a coach. He has a good arm and is very accurate.

“He anticipates things really well. That’s the one thing our scouts and coaches really talked about. He really knows where to go with the ball and he gets the ball there before the receiver comes out of his break. The guy is very talented and we were very fortunate to be able to get him.”

The Lions typically bring in more than three quarterbacks to training camp, but Moore looks to have a great opportunity to make the roster behind Matthew Stafford and backup Shaun Hill.

Edwards (5-9, 172) had over 4,500 receiving yards and 43 touchdowns in four years at Houston. He also scored two touchdowns returning punts.

“This guy has also been one of the productive guys in college football the last couple seasons,” Mayhew said of Edwards. “He had (1,752) yards receiving last year, 19.7 yards average per catch and he’s going to be one of our free agents that’s really another talented offensive weapon.

“He’s very fast. That Houston offense throws the ball around quit a bit. He was one of those run-and-shoot receivers. He caught like 89 balls last year, I think, so he caught a ton of balls. He’s been a three-year starter for them. He has over 4,500 yards in his career. He’s another guy who we think has a really good chance.”

Here is the unofficial list of the Lions’ undrafted rookie free agents thus far:

QB Kellen Moore, Boise State

WR Patrick Edwards, Houston

WR Troy Burrell, Wayne State

WR Jared Karstetter, Washington State

TE Alex Gottlieb, William & Mary

OG Rodney Austin, Elon

OT Quinn Barham, Penn State

OG J.C. Oram, Weber State

LB Carmen Messina, New Mexico

LB Ronnie Sneed, Kentucky

DT Michael Cosgrove, Idaho

DE Eddie McClam, Old Dominion

K Derek Dimke, Illinois

CB Alonzo Lawrence, Mississippi Golf Coast Community College

G Pat Boyle, Temple

TE Austin Wells, Northern Iowa

RB Stephon Greene, Penn State