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Former Lions tight end Hakeem Valles rips Matt Patricia’s fear-based culture: ‘There’s too much ego’

Former Detroit Lions tight end Hakeem Valles is currently enjoying retirement. After just three seasons in the NFL—two with the Lions—Valles left the business with no regrets to pursue a livelihood in real estate that he can enjoy with his family without the many stressors that came with living an NFL life.

Now with a year of life outside of football, Valles is opening up about his time in the NFL and his time with the Lions. On a recent appearance on The Pride Podcast, Valles gave listeners a peek behind the curtains on what his time was like as he watched the Detroit Lions franchise transition from Jim Caldwell to Matt Patricia at head coach, a changing of the guards in which he described as “beyond night and day.