The Lions and Jaguars have finalized the trade that will send wide receiver Dennis Northcutt to Detroit. As expected, Jacksonville will receive safety Gerald Alexander in the deal. Alexander was a second-round pick in the 2007 draft.

The Silverdome, the former home of the Lions, may be headed for auction. Emergency Financial Manager Fred Leeb has told the Associated Press that attempts to sell the Pontiac Silverdome have not been successful. The city of Detroit spends about $1.5 million annually to maintain the structure.

The Jaguars have traded receiver Dennis Northcutt to the Lions, according to sources. In exchange for Northcutt, Detroit will send safety Gerald Alexander to Jacksonville. The trade was agreed to on Friday and is expected to be finalized next week.

Lions owner William Clay Ford Sr. says that he has never told a coach who to play. "I do not, contrary to public opinion, interfere with the football side of it," Ford said. "I mean, if so-and-so plays lousy, I'll say 'I think he's a bum.' But, no, I've never said, 'Play this guy or that guy' or "Don't play him.' No, these guys know more about the game than I do by 10 miles. I'm not going to try to second-guess them. Now, if it goes wrong, we'll talk about it."

The Lions signed center Dominic Raiola to a four-year contract extension Thursday, putting the 6-foot-1, 295-pound starter under contract through the 2013 season, according to an Associated Press report.

Daunte Culpepper is doing his best to beat out rookie Matt Stafford as Detroit's starting quarterback. "Everybody is going to make plays," Stafford said Wednesday. "Daunte is a great player, and so is [receiver] Calvin [Johnson]. That just motivates you to do well." New Lions coach Jim Schwartz has maintained that he will start the best player when the season opens. "You've got to understand that my job is to be the best player I can be," Culpepper said Tuesday. "That's my focus right now -- to be better than I've ever been."

Lions linebacker Ernie Sims says that the team's winless 2008 season is now an afterthought. "It's out of my head," Sims said. "Last year is over with, and we're focusing on the new year with a totally new team. We're switching our swagger around." Detroit has a new front office, coach and a host of young and talented rookies. "Patience is no longer a virtue. Indoctrination is over," first-year coach Jim Schwartz said he told the team. "There are new schemes. There's new philosophies. There's new coaches. There's whole new dynamics. A significant number of players on the team are new. "We need to get past it now, and we need to start seeing results on the field."

Running back Kevin Smith is working hard this offseason so that he can be Detroit's "lead dog" this fall. "For me being in shape and ready to go is a must. It's not even an issue. I feel I'm a tempo-setter, so I have to be in great shape and looking and feeling good for this training camp," Smith wrote on his web site - Smith34.com. "I feel I have the mentality that I'm the lead dog and I'm going to set the tempo. It's a mentality I like to take on and you can do it if you have the killer instinct."

Lions receiver Keary Colbert believes that rookie quarterback Matthew Stafford has the tools to be great. Stafford threaded the football through tight coverage to Colbert during Monday's workouts. "That's the sign of a young, great quarterback," Colbert said. "It was a small window. He has a lot of confidence in himself and in his arm to make that throw, and he showed it. He put it in there where only I could get it." Detroit coach Jim Schwartz raved about Stafford to Sports Illustrated recently. "So far, whatever the opposite of buyer's remorse is, that's what we have. We knew he had the terrific NFL arm. But we've found out his release is just textbook classic," the new coach said.