The figure front and center in Mike Daniels' decision to sign with the Lions was Matt Patricia.
But there was a man behind the scenes who may have sealed the deal: T.J. Lang.
When Daniels was released by the Packers last month, Lang was all over his former teammate to come to Detroit. Think about that defensive line, Lang told him. Think about how good you guys could be.
Daniels heard from 12 other teams once he hit the open market. But once he heard from Lang, a player he grew tight with in Green Bay, Daniels knew Detroit was the place to go. ($9.1 million over one year isn't a bad selling point either.)
"When he told me, ‘Hey, you know where you gotta go, right?’ I knew in the back of my head, I said, ‘Dang, I can’t say no now, man,' because I’ve always trusted T.J.," Daniels said. "He was always the older guy that I could ask questions, like, ‘Dude, what can I work on? How can I get better today?’ He helped me develop into the player and the team leader and the man that I am."
It's that drive that drew Daniels to Patricia, and Patricia to Daniels. The two instantly hit it off when Daniels came to Allen Park for his free agent visit.
"I’m surprised the meeting room didn’t erupt in flames. It became a shouting match at one point, but that’s just the energy we both had," Daniels said. "I was just excited. I really enjoyed our meeting, man. I guess you could say him and I are cut from the same cloth, much like a guy like T.J. Just a hard-nosed, 'Hey, we’re coming, we’re bringing it every single chance we get and we’re not taking our foot off the gas ever.'"
And you bet the thought of joining Detroit's loaded defensive front factored into the equation, too.
"That had something to do with it," Daniels said with a laugh. "That definitely had something to do with it. Golly, Snacks is a guy I’ve always had a lot of respect for. To be able to play with a dominant nose tackle like that, I couldn’t believe that was going to be a possibility. Then you look at a younger guy like A’Shawn (Robinson) who’s really coming into his own, Da’Shawn Hand who did a lot of really good things last year, and then the millions of edge guys that I would always see harass Aaron (Rodgers) when I was in Green Bay, and now I get to harass people with them. That was a huge part of it.
"And one of the biggest reasons I came was J.D. (Jarrad Davis), No. 40. Seeing him playing the inside linebacker position, you knew he was going to be something when he came in a couple years ago. I would say, 'Man, who is No. 40? Guy is a monster. Kid’s going to be really good.' Now I get to play with him."
Daniels saw first-hand the potential of the Lions' defense when they took down Rodgers and the Packers twice last season. And he took note of their performances against some of the best teams in the league.
"You saw a lot of things that they did last year," Daniels said. "They beat New England who went onto win the Super Bowl, a fumble away from beating the Rams who they dominated the whole game, and then we (the Packers) lost to them twice and Aaron (Rodgers) played in both of those games. When you can beat that level of competition consistently, that lets you know you got something and things are moving in the right direction."
Daniels, 30, arrives in Detroit with something to prove. He missed six games last season with a foot injury and saw his numbers dip considerably, a year after making the Pro Bowl. Then he got cut. The Lions stand to reap the rewards.
"Getting cut, that definitely put a bigger chip on my shoulder than I already had. Felt like I really underperformed last year, got hurt, so I already came into this year with a chip on my shoulder. Now I’m just pissed," he said. "So I’m excited to get back out there and hit some of the guys from Houston next week and then hit some of our own guys and just get to it, man. I’m just really excited because I love this team. I see where this team is going."