Before he even reached free agency, John Cominsky knew where he wanted to be: "Detroit was it all along," he said Wednesday. And once the Lions came to him with a two-year, $8.5 million deal, his mind was all but made up. He had some competing offers on the table, but Cominsky was "already leaning here 99.9 percent," he said. "And then that text."
The text came from Dan Campbell, the coach who believed in Cominsky after he'd been waived by the Falcons last summer, the coach Cominsky rewarded with a breakout season in his first year with the Lions.
"Coach Campbell sent me a text saying, 'I’m dying to have you here.' And I told my wife, 'That’s it, I’m going to Detroit,'" said Cominsky. "So here we are."
Sometimes the simplest words say the most.
"It’s from the headman himself. Dan Campbell, that’s the leader around here. He sends you a text like that, it’s like, OK, this organization wants me back for sure," said Cominsky.
Cominsky, 27, was a priority free agent for the Lions, who got much more than bargained for last season. After playing sparingly in three seasons in Atlanta, Cominsky signed for the vet minimum in Detroit, won a job in training camp and then finished second on the team in quarterback pressures (44), first in pressures per game.
A high-energy player who reflects his head coach, Cominsky played up and down Detroit's defensive line and wreaked havoc wherever he went. And he did it while playing most of the season with his right hand in a club because of a broken thumb.
"Excited to play with two hands again," he smiled.
At this time last year, Cominsky faced an uncertain future in the NFL. Near the end of his time with the Falcons, his agent gave him a black T-shirt that said in white letters across the chest: "One year of focus and hustle can change your life forever." Cominsky liked it. He said he "felt a little extra edge" whenever he wore it, whether he was working out or just walking around. He just knew he'd need about 10 more, "because I’m going to be wearing them all year long," he said.
On Wednesday, he was wearing a new one.
"Here we are full circle, I’m signing a contract that’s just going to change my life," Cominsky said. "And it’s true, so I hope it’s a testimony to anyone that they can just put their head for 365 days and know that their life can change."
Cominsky spent most of last season proving people wrong. The Lions did the same down the stretch. For Cominksy, being "counted out" was motivation. Negativity was his fuel. With $8.5 million coming his way, $4 million of it guaranteed, his fuel moving forward is "belief from a whole organization," he said.
"A lot of people say, 'I believe in you and I want to see you succeed,' so it’s a different type of motivation for me," Cominsky said. "It feels more pure. It’s all positive and it’s really exiting to prove everyone right, these coaches, the organization, the fans, my family, myself prove them right that I’m worth every bit of that contract."
And Cominsky wants to be part of a defense, and a team, that does the same. While the Lions' defense ranked last in the NFL last season, it improved as the year went on and sparked the team's 8-2 finish. Now the Lions are viewed as favorites to win the NFC North.
"We put a stake in the ground and we turned it around," Cominsky said. "Our confidence is built on the fact that we know where we were and we know where we are now. There’s expectations, but we're not going to let it bother us. We’re going to embrace it."
No one on the Lions has come further in the last year than Cominsky. If they keep following his lead, who knows where they might end up.