Former Lions lineman John Gonzaga, who was working in a steel mill when he was signed by the 49ers in 1956, has died. He was 74. Gonzaga died Thursday at his home in the Detroit suburb of West Bloomfield Township, according to the Lions and McCabe Funeral Home in Farmington Hills. A cause of death wasn't released, the funeral home said. The team said Gonzaga's death followed a lengthy illness. Born in Martinez, Calif., Gonzaga played five seasons for Detroit (1961-65) and worked for Ford Motor Co. during the offseason. He also played for the 49ers (1956-59), the Cowboys (1960) and the Broncos (1966).

An arbitration hearing in the Detroit Lions' case for recovering almost $10.2 million of a signing bonus paid to Charles Rogers, scheduled for today in Detroit, has been indefinitely delayed, the team said. Rogers, a first-round draft choice in 2003, had his career cut short by injuries and drug problems. The Lions filed a grievance late in 2005. The NFL suspended Rogers for four games in 2005 for violating the league's substance-abuse policy.

Calvin Johnson's first taste of the NFL taught him a valuable lesson. "I've got to get in better shape for mini-camp," the Lions wide receiver said. "I didn't realize what the tempo of this was going to be like." Johnson, the second pick in last weekend's draft, was in town for Detroit's three-day rookie camp, which ended Sunday. He was joined by his fellow draft picks and a few dozen undrafted players hoping to catch someone's eye. "We brought in a lot of players, because we wanted this to feel like a training camp," said coach Rod Marinelli. "We didn't want a dozen guys wandering around on their own, we wanted this to be close to the real thing."