'110 miles an hour every day' Colts head coach Shane Steichen on the breakout possibility of new Lions linebacker Grant Stuard

Last week we went through all of the Detroit Lions' new free agents to try to sus out who the breakout player of that group is. We chose linebacker Grant Stuard to be that guy.  At the end of the day, the Lions' linebacker corps has some questions surrounding it. Is this Alex Anzalone's last […]

Mike Payton Detroit Lions Beat Writer
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Indianapolis Colts linebacker Grant Stuard (41) celebrates a play during a pre-season game between the Indianapolis Colts and the Denver Broncos on Sunday, August. 11, 2024 at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.
Michelle Pemberton/IndyStar / USA TODAY NETWORK

Last week we went through all of the Detroit Lions' new free agents to try to sus out who the breakout player of that group is. We chose linebacker Grant Stuard to be that guy. 

At the end of the day, the Lions' linebacker corps has some questions surrounding it. Is this Alex Anzalone's last year? Can they afford to pay Jahmyr Gibbs, Brian Branch, Sam Laporta, and then Jack Campbell? With that and more, there's a chance to go out and have a big year and cement yourself a spot. 

We wanted to learn a little more about the player, so we talked to Indianapolis Colts head coach Sahen Steichen at the 2025 NFL league meetings and asked him if there's some breakout possibility for Stuard in Detroit. 

"I mean, he had a game, obviously, where he had 20 tackles for us, a lot of special team value as well. I mean, just a phenomenal human." Steichen said. He's a physical player that loves the game of football. He's going to bring great energy to them. He practices 110 miles an hour every day. Phenomenal teammate. I think he's going to fit in really good there." 

Steichen brought up the big 20-tackle game that Stuard had. If you missed that, it was Week 7 of last year against the Dolphins. He had 11 solo tackles and assisted on another eight. He had a tackle for loss too and also had a stop on special teams. If he can bring even half that play for the Lions, this is going to be a big move for Detroit. 

The early expectation for Stuard should be that he's going to be the team's new Jalen Reeves-Maybin. The lead special-teams guy. But we know that he came to Detroit over going to teams where he might have had a better opportunity to play right away, and we know he's doing that because he wanted to earn his way up on a good team. Let's see how he does.