{"id":28637,"date":"2025-03-27T05:24:22","date_gmt":"2025-03-27T05:24:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/divinesoccerinfo.com\/?p=28637"},"modified":"2025-03-27T05:24:22","modified_gmt":"2025-03-27T05:24:22","slug":"ex-lions-safety-admits-to-past-mistakes-after-leaving-as-free-agent","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/divinesoccerinfo.com\/index.php\/2025\/03\/27\/ex-lions-safety-admits-to-past-mistakes-after-leaving-as-free-agent\/","title":{"rendered":"Ex-Lions Safety Admits to Past Mistakes After Leaving as Free Agent"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Detroit Lions aimed to retain their core on both sides of the ball for the upcoming season. Despite losing key coaching staff members, the team prioritized continuity. After a season filled with injuries, head coach Dan Campbell and GM Brad Holmes are banking on better health and luck to push them further in 2025.<\/span><\/h3>\n

However, in the NFL, complete roster stability is impossible. Offseason departures are inevitable, and the Lions lost key players, including Carlton Davis and Kevin Zeitler.<\/p>\n

Another notable departure was Ifeatu Melifonwu. The 25-year-old safety, a third-round pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, spent four seasons in Detroit. Injuries, however, limited him to just 37 games.<\/p>\n

Looking for a fresh start and a chance to revive his NFL career, Melifonwu signed a one-year contract with the Miami Dolphins in free agency. Upon joining his new team, he reflected on his time in Detroit.<\/p>\n

Speaking with Sports Illustrated’s Emmett Matasovsky, the former Syracuse standout admitted to mistakes in his early NFL years that led to injuries.<\/p>\n

“I think early on I didn\u2019t do as much as I should have been, like just being young. But there\u2019s definitely \u2013 sometimes it\u2019s luck to be honest. Some stuff I had, like tackle and I got rolled up on with my ankle facing up.<\/p>\n

Sometimes it\u2019s just pure luck, but there\u2019s definitely stuff I\u2019ve approached this offseason with my trainer and nutrition-wise and different stuff like that to help prevent injuries going forward.”<\/p>\n

\u2013 Ifeatu Melifonwu<\/strong><\/p>\n

At 21 years old when drafted, Melifonwu admitted he didn\u2019t take proper care of his body.<\/p>\n

In just his second NFL game, a thigh injury sidelined him for most of the season. Over his first two years, he played only 17 games.<\/p>\n

While injuries are often unavoidable in the NFL, players can take steps to prepare their bodies for the grueling season. Melifonwu, who previously neglected that aspect, is now focused on elevating his game as he moves on from Detroit.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Detroit Lions aimed to retain their core on both sides of the ball for the upcoming season. Despite losing key coaching staff members, the team prioritized continuity. After a season filled with injuries, head coach Dan Campbell and GM Brad Holmes are banking on better health and luck to push them further in 2025. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":28638,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[378],"tags":[738,1548,2346],"class_list":["post-28637","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-detroit-lions","tag-carlton-davis","tag-ifeatu-melifonwu","tag-kevin-zeitler"],"yoast_head":"\nEx-Lions Safety Admits to Past Mistakes After Leaving as Free Agent - Soccerinfo.com<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The Detroit Lions aimed to retain their core on both sides of the ball for the upcoming season. Despite losing key coaching staff members\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/divinesoccerinfo.com\/index.php\/2025\/03\/27\/ex-lions-safety-admits-to-past-mistakes-after-leaving-as-free-agent\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Ex-Lions Safety Admits to Past Mistakes After Leaving as Free Agent - Soccerinfo.com\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Detroit Lions aimed to retain their core on both sides of the ball for the upcoming season. Despite losing key coaching staff members\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/divinesoccerinfo.com\/index.php\/2025\/03\/27\/ex-lions-safety-admits-to-past-mistakes-after-leaving-as-free-agent\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Soccerinfo.com\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-03-27T05:24:22+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/divinesoccerinfo.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/images-2025-03-27T062331.261.jpeg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"494\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"621\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"divinesoccerinfo.com\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"divinesoccerinfo.com\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/divinesoccerinfo.com\\\/index.php\\\/2025\\\/03\\\/27\\\/ex-lions-safety-admits-to-past-mistakes-after-leaving-as-free-agent\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/divinesoccerinfo.com\\\/index.php\\\/2025\\\/03\\\/27\\\/ex-lions-safety-admits-to-past-mistakes-after-leaving-as-free-agent\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"divinesoccerinfo.com\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/divinesoccerinfo.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/1f76d33a1d75741800760d3b780e9dd5\"},\"headline\":\"Ex-Lions Safety Admits to Past Mistakes After Leaving as Free Agent\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-03-27T05:24:22+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/divinesoccerinfo.com\\\/index.php\\\/2025\\\/03\\\/27\\\/ex-lions-safety-admits-to-past-mistakes-after-leaving-as-free-agent\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":339,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/divinesoccerinfo.com\\\/index.php\\\/2025\\\/03\\\/27\\\/ex-lions-safety-admits-to-past-mistakes-after-leaving-as-free-agent\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/divinesoccerinfo.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/03\\\/images-2025-03-27T062331.261.jpeg\",\"keywords\":[\"Carlton Davis\",\"Ifeatu Melifonwu\",\"Kevin Zeitler\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Detroit Lions\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/divinesoccerinfo.com\\\/index.php\\\/2025\\\/03\\\/27\\\/ex-lions-safety-admits-to-past-mistakes-after-leaving-as-free-agent\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/divinesoccerinfo.com\\\/index.php\\\/2025\\\/03\\\/27\\\/ex-lions-safety-admits-to-past-mistakes-after-leaving-as-free-agent\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/divinesoccerinfo.com\\\/index.php\\\/2025\\\/03\\\/27\\\/ex-lions-safety-admits-to-past-mistakes-after-leaving-as-free-agent\\\/\",\"name\":\"Ex-Lions Safety Admits to Past Mistakes After Leaving as Free Agent - Soccerinfo.com\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/divinesoccerinfo.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/divinesoccerinfo.com\\\/index.php\\\/2025\\\/03\\\/27\\\/ex-lions-safety-admits-to-past-mistakes-after-leaving-as-free-agent\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/divinesoccerinfo.com\\\/index.php\\\/2025\\\/03\\\/27\\\/ex-lions-safety-admits-to-past-mistakes-after-leaving-as-free-agent\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/divinesoccerinfo.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/03\\\/images-2025-03-27T062331.261.jpeg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-03-27T05:24:22+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/divinesoccerinfo.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/1f76d33a1d75741800760d3b780e9dd5\"},\"description\":\"The Detroit Lions aimed to retain their core on both sides of the ball for the upcoming season. Despite losing key coaching staff members\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/divinesoccerinfo.com\\\/index.php\\\/2025\\\/03\\\/27\\\/ex-lions-safety-admits-to-past-mistakes-after-leaving-as-free-agent\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/divinesoccerinfo.com\\\/index.php\\\/2025\\\/03\\\/27\\\/ex-lions-safety-admits-to-past-mistakes-after-leaving-as-free-agent\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/divinesoccerinfo.com\\\/index.php\\\/2025\\\/03\\\/27\\\/ex-lions-safety-admits-to-past-mistakes-after-leaving-as-free-agent\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/divinesoccerinfo.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/03\\\/images-2025-03-27T062331.261.jpeg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/divinesoccerinfo.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/03\\\/images-2025-03-27T062331.261.jpeg\",\"width\":494,\"height\":621},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/divinesoccerinfo.com\\\/index.php\\\/2025\\\/03\\\/27\\\/ex-lions-safety-admits-to-past-mistakes-after-leaving-as-free-agent\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/divinesoccerinfo.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Ex-Lions Safety Admits to Past Mistakes After Leaving as Free Agent\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/divinesoccerinfo.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/divinesoccerinfo.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Soccerinfo.com\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/divinesoccerinfo.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/divinesoccerinfo.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/1f76d33a1d75741800760d3b780e9dd5\",\"name\":\"divinesoccerinfo.com\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/587c9e038d335f9d57920fcf31dc8f50237a7cf0ec12645a5b69ccf844eb198f?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/587c9e038d335f9d57920fcf31dc8f50237a7cf0ec12645a5b69ccf844eb198f?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/587c9e038d335f9d57920fcf31dc8f50237a7cf0ec12645a5b69ccf844eb198f?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"divinesoccerinfo.com\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/divinesoccerinfo.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/divinesoccerinfo.com\\\/index.php\\\/author\\\/divinesoccerinfo-com\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Ex-Lions Safety Admits to Past Mistakes After Leaving as Free Agent - Soccerinfo.com","description":"The Detroit Lions aimed to retain their core on both sides of the ball for the upcoming season. Despite losing key coaching staff members","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/divinesoccerinfo.com\/index.php\/2025\/03\/27\/ex-lions-safety-admits-to-past-mistakes-after-leaving-as-free-agent\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Ex-Lions Safety Admits to Past Mistakes After Leaving as Free Agent - Soccerinfo.com","og_description":"The Detroit Lions aimed to retain their core on both sides of the ball for the upcoming season. Despite losing key coaching staff members","og_url":"https:\/\/divinesoccerinfo.com\/index.php\/2025\/03\/27\/ex-lions-safety-admits-to-past-mistakes-after-leaving-as-free-agent\/","og_site_name":"Soccerinfo.com","article_published_time":"2025-03-27T05:24:22+00:00","og_image":[{"width":494,"height":621,"url":"https:\/\/divinesoccerinfo.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/images-2025-03-27T062331.261.jpeg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"divinesoccerinfo.com","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"divinesoccerinfo.com","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/divinesoccerinfo.com\/index.php\/2025\/03\/27\/ex-lions-safety-admits-to-past-mistakes-after-leaving-as-free-agent\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/divinesoccerinfo.com\/index.php\/2025\/03\/27\/ex-lions-safety-admits-to-past-mistakes-after-leaving-as-free-agent\/"},"author":{"name":"divinesoccerinfo.com","@id":"https:\/\/divinesoccerinfo.com\/#\/schema\/person\/1f76d33a1d75741800760d3b780e9dd5"},"headline":"Ex-Lions Safety Admits to Past Mistakes After Leaving as Free Agent","datePublished":"2025-03-27T05:24:22+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/divinesoccerinfo.com\/index.php\/2025\/03\/27\/ex-lions-safety-admits-to-past-mistakes-after-leaving-as-free-agent\/"},"wordCount":339,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/divinesoccerinfo.com\/index.php\/2025\/03\/27\/ex-lions-safety-admits-to-past-mistakes-after-leaving-as-free-agent\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/divinesoccerinfo.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/images-2025-03-27T062331.261.jpeg","keywords":["Carlton Davis","Ifeatu Melifonwu","Kevin Zeitler"],"articleSection":["Detroit Lions"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/divinesoccerinfo.com\/index.php\/2025\/03\/27\/ex-lions-safety-admits-to-past-mistakes-after-leaving-as-free-agent\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/divinesoccerinfo.com\/index.php\/2025\/03\/27\/ex-lions-safety-admits-to-past-mistakes-after-leaving-as-free-agent\/","url":"https:\/\/divinesoccerinfo.com\/index.php\/2025\/03\/27\/ex-lions-safety-admits-to-past-mistakes-after-leaving-as-free-agent\/","name":"Ex-Lions Safety Admits to Past Mistakes After Leaving as Free Agent - Soccerinfo.com","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/divinesoccerinfo.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/divinesoccerinfo.com\/index.php\/2025\/03\/27\/ex-lions-safety-admits-to-past-mistakes-after-leaving-as-free-agent\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/divinesoccerinfo.com\/index.php\/2025\/03\/27\/ex-lions-safety-admits-to-past-mistakes-after-leaving-as-free-agent\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/divinesoccerinfo.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/images-2025-03-27T062331.261.jpeg","datePublished":"2025-03-27T05:24:22+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/divinesoccerinfo.com\/#\/schema\/person\/1f76d33a1d75741800760d3b780e9dd5"},"description":"The Detroit Lions aimed to retain their core on both sides of the ball for the upcoming season. Despite losing key coaching staff members","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/divinesoccerinfo.com\/index.php\/2025\/03\/27\/ex-lions-safety-admits-to-past-mistakes-after-leaving-as-free-agent\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/divinesoccerinfo.com\/index.php\/2025\/03\/27\/ex-lions-safety-admits-to-past-mistakes-after-leaving-as-free-agent\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/divinesoccerinfo.com\/index.php\/2025\/03\/27\/ex-lions-safety-admits-to-past-mistakes-after-leaving-as-free-agent\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/divinesoccerinfo.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/images-2025-03-27T062331.261.jpeg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/divinesoccerinfo.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/images-2025-03-27T062331.261.jpeg","width":494,"height":621},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/divinesoccerinfo.com\/index.php\/2025\/03\/27\/ex-lions-safety-admits-to-past-mistakes-after-leaving-as-free-agent\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/divinesoccerinfo.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Ex-Lions Safety Admits to Past Mistakes After Leaving as Free Agent"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/divinesoccerinfo.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/divinesoccerinfo.com\/","name":"Soccerinfo.com","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/divinesoccerinfo.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/divinesoccerinfo.com\/#\/schema\/person\/1f76d33a1d75741800760d3b780e9dd5","name":"divinesoccerinfo.com","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/587c9e038d335f9d57920fcf31dc8f50237a7cf0ec12645a5b69ccf844eb198f?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/587c9e038d335f9d57920fcf31dc8f50237a7cf0ec12645a5b69ccf844eb198f?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/587c9e038d335f9d57920fcf31dc8f50237a7cf0ec12645a5b69ccf844eb198f?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"divinesoccerinfo.com"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/divinesoccerinfo.com"],"url":"https:\/\/divinesoccerinfo.com\/index.php\/author\/divinesoccerinfo-com\/"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/divinesoccerinfo.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/images-2025-03-27T062331.261.jpeg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/divinesoccerinfo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28637","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/divinesoccerinfo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/divinesoccerinfo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/divinesoccerinfo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/divinesoccerinfo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=28637"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/divinesoccerinfo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28637\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/divinesoccerinfo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/28638"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/divinesoccerinfo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28637"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/divinesoccerinfo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=28637"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/divinesoccerinfo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=28637"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}