Lions Cut Az Hakim; Matt Millen Still Employed

In the six years he has run the Detroit Lions, Matt Millen has made more moves relating to his wide receivers than to any other position. And because this is Millen we're talking about, that means he's made more blunders relating to his wide receivers than to any other position. Everyone knows about the three straight years in which the Lions chose receivers with Top 10 draft picks, but don't forget the enormous contract Millen gave to Az Hakim, who was coming off a season in which he caught 39 passes for 374 yards.

Millen thought Hakim would be a star in Detroit, but in three years with the Lions, he never cracked 50 catches or 600 yards. So the Lions cut him. Then they hired his old coach, Mike Martz, as his offensive coordinator this season, so they gave Hakim another chance. He played pretty well in his few opportunities, but now the Lions have cut him again. They're not saying why, other than to say he didn't violate any team rules.

The Lions also demoted linebacker Boss Bailey out of the starting lineup and moved left guard Ross Verba and right tackle Rex Tucker into the starting lineup. I've got some advice to Lions owner William Clay Ford: Shuffling players around will do absolutely nothing for your team until you shuffle Millen out of your front office.