Shortly after being cut by the Redskins, offensive lineman Jon Jansen joined the Lions. Jansen will sign a one-year deal with Detroit assuming he passes a physical. "After taking care of things Monday, I'm very excited to show I've got more than one year left in my career," Jansen told the The Associated Press. "The Lions were the No. 1 team I wanted to sign with because it brings me back home, and it gives me a chance to be one of the guys to turn things around." Jansen is from Michigan, and will be trying to reverse his home team's recent 0-16 season.

The Lions have claimed cornerback Tra Battle off waivers from the Cowboys, according to Scout.com. Battle was waived on Wednesday after appearing in five games for Dallas in 2008.

Quarterback Dan Orlovsky, now with the Texans, "felt terrible" after stepping out of bounds and causing a safety with the Lions last season. "That wasn't the impression I was looking to make," Orlovsky told the Hartford Courant. "But I felt terrible. It was a stupid play and I was really down about it, but Jared DeVries, a defensive end and an 11-year veteran, comes up to me right after the play and says, 'Forget about that. We need you. Everybody makes mistakes.' "Calvin Johnson comes up to me and says, 'Man, I didn't mean to laugh, but that stuff was funny.' So I mean, it happened. I'll be remembered for it, I'm sure. But you have to move on, and I did. After that game, I just went back to paying attention to detail again and doing the little things ? like I always did."

Free-agent cornerback Rod Hood will visit with the Lions on Monday, according to NFL.com. Hood, who has played for the Cardinals and Eagles in his career, visited the Browns and Bengals this week.

The Lions have reportedly signed free-agent defensive end Jason Hunter. Hunter, a veteran, played his last three seasons in Green Bay. Scout.com initially reported the signing.

Lions running back Kevin Smith wrote in his blog earlier this week that he believes the team "will definitely" make the playoffs this coming season. Detroit famously went winless during the 2008 season. "I won't make a prediction about how many games we're going to win, but I will say this: We will definitely make the playoffs this season," Smith wrote on Wednesday. How could Smith believe that such a turnaround is possible? "Believe it or not we weren?t far off last year. Almost every game we could have won, we were one play or one player short. Except for Tennessee on Thanksgiving, they just came out and beat us to sleep. They manhandled us, but nobody else did," he added.

The Lions have signed wide receiver Keary Colbert to a contract after he spent four games with the team in 2008. Colbert spent time with three teams last season. After signing a three-year deal with the Broncos, he was traded to the Seahawks in September, and was then released by Seattle after playing in seven contests. Colbert was a second-round draft pick by the Panthers out of USC in 2004.

The Lions and linebacker Larry Foote have agreed to terms on a one-year deal that brings the veteran to his hometown team. Foote was released by the Steelers for salary cap reasons earlier this week. "I'm excited because it's a fresh start for me," Foote told the Associated Press. "It's a one-year deal to show my talents, and hopefully end up signing a long-term deal after showing the Lions and their new coaching staff what I can do."

The Lions are considered the front-runner to land free agent linebacker Larry Foote, who was released by the Steelers on Monday. Several teams have interest, including the Colts, but Foote has made it known that he'd like to play for Detroit, his hometown team.

Rookie quarterback Matthew Stafford, the first overall pick in last month's NFL Draft, impressed the Lions during this weekend's rookie minicamp. Detroit coach Jim Schwartz insisted that every position will have to be earned, hinting that Stafford isn't a lock to start right away for the Lions. "We'll cross that bridge when we get there -- I'm not gonna make that decision right now," Schwartz said of whether Stafford will start over Daunte Culpepper. "Part of our message has been nobody's earned a job yet. We have to throw groups out there to practice. But my message has to stay the same, and it's gotta be, 'Hey, you're gonna earn your spot based on how you perform.' We probably won't get into depth charts until right before the first preseason game."