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Detroit Lions' Graham Glasgow says team would 'like me to come back'
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- Detroit Lions' Graham Glasgow says team would 'like me to come back'
Graham Glasgow doesn't normally pay too close of attention to the Super Bowl. If he's not playing in a game, there's no reason to get too invested in its outcome.
This year won't be any different.
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Glasgow, the Detroit Lions' veteran offensive lineman, said next week's Super Bowl between the Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers will be especially hard to watch after the Lions ' 34-31 NFC championship game loss to the 49ers.
Lions guard Graham Glasgow walks off the field after training camp on Wednesday, July 26, 2023, in Allen Park.
"When it's time to finally just like move on and have the season be over, I feel like that's probably when you can just let it go," Glasgow said. "I'm not sitting here all day just mulling it over and thinking about it over and over again, but when I feel like you're able to go and just watch a team that you maybe feel like you could have beat, should have beat, play another team that you already have beaten, it's a – we'll see. We'll see how I feel."
The Lions beat the AFC champion Chiefs in Week 1 of the regular season – on the road in the Chiefs' banner-raising ceremony game. Kansas City played that game without Pro Bowl tight end Travis Kelce (because of injury) and defensive leader Chris Jones (because of contract negotiations), but the Lions held the Chiefs without a field goal in the second half and ran for 118 yards against one of the NFL's stingiest defenses.
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In last week's NFC title game, the Lions jumped to a 17-point lead with a dominant first half against the 49ers before coming unraveled in a series of compounding mistakes.
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As bitter as that loss was, Glasgow said he will leave this season proud of what the Lions accomplished and with an appreciation for the joy the playoff run brought to the state.
"I mean, it's something to be proud of," Glasgow said. "I feel like this team has accomplished a lot that hasn't been done in what feels like forever. And like I said, you wish that we could have finished it all and won a Super Bowl and gave the ultimate thing to be proud of, but for everything that happened, it's a good feeling."
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The Lions set a franchise record this season with 14 wins (regular season and playoffs), won their first division title in 30 years, and their first two playoff games since 1991.
Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff calls a play at the line of scrimmage with center Frank Ragnow and left guard Graham Glasgow against the Minnesota Vikings defense at Ford Field in Detroit on Sunday, Jan. 7, 2024.
They'll enter next season as one of the Super Bowl favorites, with a roster and coaching staff that remain largely intact.
Glasgow is one of two free-agent starters on the offensive line, along with left guard Jonah Jackson , and is arguably the player the Lions can least afford to lose among their 26 unrestricted and restricted free agents.
Glasgow was one of two offensive linemen to play in all 20 games this season, starting 18 of those games at left guard, right guard and center. He finished second in the league in run block win rate among interior linemen, according to ESPN , and was ranked the ninth-best guard in the regular season by Pro Football Focus.
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A few months shy of his 32nd birthday, Glasgow said his preference is to return for another year in Detroit and that the Lions have told him they would "like me to come back."
"Unfortunately, this is the business part of playing professional football, so we'll see," he said.
Contact Dave Birkett at dbirkett@freepress.com . Follow him on Twitter at @davebirkett.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Lions OL Graham Glasgow heads to free agency, wants to return
