The Detroit Lions’ marriage with Matt Patricia ended the way most team/coach unions do in the NFL — in divorce. But unlike most long-term relationships, there are no good times worth remembering. The pairing was toxic almost from the start through its bitter finish, which probably came a year later than it should have.
There's a football game to be played Sunday, between the Lions and New England Patriots. And the Lions have more to worry about with their present than their past, given the team's disappointing 1-3 start to the season. Still, it will be impossible to ignore the elephant in the room in the days leading up to kickoff, given this is the first time Patricia and the Lions will have crossed paths since parting ways.
Scars remain in Detroit. While a marriage might end with lingering debt, the Lions have been left with enormous dead-money cap hits, including more than $18 million they’re still holding for a couple of ex-Patriots Patricia brought in to rebuild a defense that never got off the ground, in the form of Trey Flowers and Jamie Collins.
