Most of them get it now. And if they don’t, they’re mostly gone.
That’s how these things go in the NFL. That’s how it has been here in Detroit, too, where things haven’t exactly gone smoothly in Matt Patricia’s first two seasons as the Lions’ head coach.
After an awkward — and ugly, at times — introduction in 2018, Patricia found more common ground with his players last season. But then, after injuries and an anemic defense led to a disastrous 3-12-1 finish, there were more grievances aired, as veteran players like Darius Slay and Damon Harrison left the team — and left little doubt they were happy about it, albeit for different reasons.