1987 Detroit Lions season

The 1987 Detroit Lions season was the 58th season in franchise history. In a strike-affected season, the Lions fell further from their 1986 record of 5–11, winning only four games and missing the postseason for the fourth consecutive season.

1987 Detroit Lions season
Owner	William Clay Ford Sr.
General manager	Russ Thomas
Head coach	Darryl Rogers
Home field	Pontiac Silverdome
Results
Record	4–11
Division place	5th NFC Central
Playoff finish	Did not qualify
← 1986 Lions seasons 1988 →

Offseason

NFL draft

Main article: 1987 NFL Draft

1987 Detroit Lions draft
Round	Pick	Player	Position	College	Notes
1	7	Reggie Rogers	Defensive end	Washington
3	63	Jerry Ball *	Nose tackle	SMU
4	92	Garland Rivers	Defensive back	Michigan
6	148	Danny Lockett	Linebacker	Arizona
7	175	Dan Saleaumua *	Defensive tackle	Arizona State
8	203	Dennis Gibson	Linebacker	Iowa State
9	230	Rick Calhoun	Running back	Fullerton
10	259	Raynard Brown	Wide receiver	South Carolina
11	286	Brian Siverling	Tight end	Penn State
12	315	Gary Lee	Wide receiver	Georgia Tech
Made roster    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

^[1]

Undrafted free agents

1987 Undrafted Free Agents of note

Player	Position	College
Karl Bernard	Running back	Southwestern Louisiana
Lee Saltz	Quarterback	Temple

Personnel

Staff

1987 Detroit Lions staff

Front office Owner and president – William Clay Ford Sr. Executive vice president and general manager – Russ Thomas Treasurer – William Clay Ford Jr. Controller – Chuck Schmidt General counsel – Jerry Vainisi Director of player personnel – Joe Bushofsky Pro scouting – Ron Hughes Head coaches Head coach and director of football operations – Darryl Rogers Offensive coaches Offensive coordinator/quarterbacks – Bob Baker Running backs – Vic Rapp Receivers – Lew Carpenter Tight ends/staff administrative assistant – Don Doll Offensive line – Bill Muir

Defensive coaches Defensive coordinator – Wayne Fontes Defensive line – Rex Norris Linebackers – Mike Murphy Defensive backs – Willie Shaw Special teams coaches Special teams – Carl Battershell Strength and conditioning Strength and conditioning coordinator – Don Clemons

NFL replacement players

After the league decided to use replacement players during the NFLPA strike, the following team was assembled:

1987 Detroit Lions replacement roster
Quarterbacks 10 Brendan Folmar 18 Todd Hons Running backs 28 Calvin Farmer 30 Nick Kowgios 31 Cleve Wester 36 Davey Lewis 24 Gary Ellerson 44 Tony Dollinger 46 Stan Edwards FB 86 Danny Bradley WR/KR Wide receivers 45 Eric Truvillion 80 Darrell Grymes 81 Stan Baker 83 Melvin Hoover 87 Gilvanni Johnson 89 James Duncan Tight ends 81 Mark Witte 82 Mark Wheeler 84 Jerry Diorio 84 Tim Schramm		Offensive linemen 60 Chuck Steele 63 Joe Felton 65 Patrick Cain 67 Greg Orton 68 Jerry Quaerna 71 Chris Geile 72 Jim Warne 76 Mark Jenkins 76 Mark Fincher Defensive linemen 69 Charles Benson 73 Jeff Kacmarek 79 William Gay 97 George McDuffie 98 Jerome Davis 99 Bob Beemer 99 Stuart Tolle		Linebackers 34 Creig Federico 50 Ernie Adams 50 Danny Lockett 54 Thomas Boyd 58 Carl Carr 90 Robert Thompson 93 Tim Ross 95 Steve Boadway 98 John Wacker Defensive backs 21 Bob McDonough 23 Kevin Grom 23 Maurice Harvey LCB 25 Anthony Fields 35 Alvin Hall CB/KR 39 Ken Luckett 39 John Bostic 43 Ivan Hicks 53 Anthony Office 47 Steve Hirsch Special teams 1 Matt Kinzer P 11 Mike Black P 13 Mike Mancini P 14 John Misko P 19 Mike Prindle K

Roster

1987 Detroit Lions roster

	Quarterbacks 12 Joe Ferguson 16 Chuck Long Running backs 25 Karl Bernard 24 Gary Ellerson 32 Garry James 30 James Jones FB 49 Tony Paige FB 21 Butch Woolfolk Wide receivers 80 Carl Bland 83 Gary Lee 82 Pete Mandley 86 Mark Nichols Tight ends 87 Vyto Kab 81 Mark Lewis 84 Rob Rubick		Offensive linemen 61 Scott Barrows G 75 Lomas Brown T 53 Kevin Glover C 52 Steve Mott C 73 Harvey Salem T 64 Eric Sanders T Defensive linemen 68 Steve Baack NT 93 Jerry Ball NT 79 William Gay DT 62 Curtis Green DE 77 Keith Ferguson DE 60 Reggie Rogers DE 76 Eric Williams DE 97 Dan Saleaumua DT		Linebackers 96 Paul Butcher ILB 55 Mike Cofer OLB 98 Dennis Gibson ILB 95 George Jamison OLB 50 Danny Lockett 57 Vernon Maxwell 56 Shelton Robinson 59 Jimmy Williams OLB Defensive backs 42 John Bostic 45 Raphel Cherry FS 40 Duane Galloway CB 34 James Griffin SS 23 Earl Johnson CB 29 Bruce McNorton CB 28 Chris Sheffield 41 Ricky Smith CB 44 Ivory Sully 27 Bobby Watkins CB Special teams  6 Jim Arnold P  3 Eddie Murray K		Reserve lists -- Raynard Brown WR (IRTooltip Injured reserve)   89 Jeff Chadwick WR (IRTooltip Injured reserve)   -- Tony Dollinger RB (IRTooltip Injured reserve)   70 Keith Dorney G (IRTooltip Injured reserve)   -- Stan Edwards FB (IRTooltip Injured reserve)   43 Donnie Elder DB (IRTooltip Injured reserve)   17 Eric Hipple QB (IRTooltip Injured reserve)   31 Devon Mitchell FS (IRTooltip Injured reserve)   71 Rich Strenger T (IRTooltip Injured reserve)   -- Lee Saltz QB (IRTooltip Injured reserve)   38 Scott Williams RB (IRTooltip Injured reserve)   Practice squad Rookies in italics

Regular season

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Attendance
1	September 13	at Minnesota Vikings	L 34–19	0—1	57,061
2	September 20	at Los Angeles Raiders	L 27–7	0—2	50,300
–	September 27	Chicago Bears	canceled due to strike
3	October 4	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	L 31–27	0—3	4,919
4	October 11	at Green Bay Packers	W 19–16 OT	1—3	35,779
5	October 18	Seattle Seahawks	L 37–14	1—4	8,310
6	October 25	Green Bay Packers	L 34–33	1—5	27,278
7	November 1	at Denver Broncos	L 34–0	1—6	75,172
8	November 8	Dallas Cowboys	W 27–17	2—6	45,325
9	November 15	at Washington Redskins	L 20–13	2—7	53,593
10	November 22	at Chicago Bears	L 30–10	2—8	63,357
11	November 26	Kansas City Chiefs	L 27–20	2—9	43,820
12	December 6	Los Angeles Rams	L 37–16	2—10	33,413
13	December 13	at Tampa Bay Buccaneers	W 20–10	3—10	41,699
14	December 20	Minnesota Vikings	L 17–14	4—10	27,693
15	December 27	at Atlanta Falcons	W 30–13	4—11	13,906
Note: Intra-divisional opponents are in bold text.

Standings

NFC Central
view talk edit	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	STK
Chicago Bears^(2)	11	4	0	.733	7–0	9–2	356	282	W1
Minnesota Vikings^(5)	8	7	0	.533	3–5	6–6	336	335	L1
Green Bay Packers	5	9	1	.367	3–4	4–7	255	300	L2
Tampa Bay Buccaneers	4	11	0	.267	3–4	4–9	286	360	L8
Detroit Lions	4	11	0	.267	2–5	4–7	269	384	W1

References

1. "1987 Detroit Lions Draftees". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved April 25, 2019.

External links

• 1987 Detroit Lions at Pro-Football-Reference.com