June 27, 2008

It was reported Thursday that ORT Gosder Cherilus must pay a fine of $52,000 and serve a year of probation stemming from a 2007 incident with former Boston College teammate DeJuan Tribble, in which the two players were charged with assault and battery during a bar brawl. Although the Lions were aware of the situation and are not concerned with the outcome, they have to be worried about the behavior of their rookie class to date. It turns out that second-round LB Jordon Dizon was arrested six days before the NFL draft on suspicion of driving while intoxicated, a charge that only recently was reported. And even though RB Kevin Smith, the team’s third-rounder, has not been involved in any shenanigans, to our knowledge, he told PFW that head coach Rod Marinelli had stressed to him numerous times following the draft and during rookie minicamps that he must stay out of trouble. Some teams red-flagged Smith as having a character question during the draft-evaluation process after Smith reportedly missed or chose to skip one team’s scheduled private workout with him. Expect Marinelli’s message for his rookies — to stay out of trouble — to be echoed throughout training camp.