Breaking: Detroit Lions have just completed double deals

Teams frequently reorganize their front offices and personnel departments following the NFL Draft. That appears to be the case again with the Detroit Lions, as Neil Stratton reports that the Lions have added two highly renowned scouts: Tom Roth and Dwayne Joseph. Their particular duties in Detroit are not yet apparent.

Why are these guys so highly regarded? Let us start with Joseph. He has been the Raiders’ director of professional scouting for the past five years. He formerly worked for the Philadelphia Eagles for five years, from 2015 to 2019.

During his stint in Philadelphia, he helped the Eagles win their first Super Bowl. Here are our pals from Bleeding Green Nation describing how important he was to the squad during his time there.

One of the unsung heroes of the Philadelphia Eagles’ Wild Card victory over the Chicago Bears was the person who uncovered the unsung heroes who made important plays in the game. I’m talking about Dwayne Joseph, the Eagles’ director of pro scouting.

Joseph’s career covers more than a quarter of a decade, beginning in player development for the Chicago Bears, then spending almost a decade as a scout for the Dolphins (yep, his career coincided with Dan Campbell’s in Miami from 2010-11), and then returning to the Bears.

 

Joseph was interviewed for the Raiders’ general manager position in 2022, and while he did not obtain the job, he continued to serve as director of pro scouting despite the regime shift. According to one rumor, Joseph has interviewed with various teams for the position of general manager, including the Lions (which Detroit has not publicly confirmed).

Joseph has also made numerous “GM candidates to watch” lists, including one from Jordan Schultz earlier this year and another from The Athletic’s Mike Sando in 2022.

 

 

Roth has been a scout for more than 20 years. He spent the first 14 years of his career as a college scout for the Bills, and the latter six with the Tennessee Titans. His most recent title with the Titans, before it was deleted off the team website earlier this summer, was “college scout.”

Obviously, it’s encouraging to see the Lions add well-regarded and seasoned front-office personnel. That’s especially important given Detroit’s personnel department has lost key members in the last two years, with former director of college scouting Dave Sears joining the Arizona Cardinals as assistant general manager in 2023 and senior director of player personnel Lance Newmark joining the Washington Commanders as assistant GM earlier this year.