Titus Young: Toxic Teammate

By JOHN MACDONELL, Staff Columnist

“And with the 44th pick, in the 2011 NFL Draft, the Detroit Football Lions select: Titus Young, Wide Receiver out of Boise State.” I remember those words vividly as I thought to myself, “Why another receiver? This guy doesn’t seem too flashy to me. Didn’t he get suspended for the majority of his sophomore season which saw him get into a fight with a teammate?” But I put those thoughts aside. There’s a reason why I’m not selecting players and GM Martin Mayhew is, right? I digress.

Fast forward through the 2011 season and it’s now Training Camp for 2012. Bright sunny days in July and August greet the players as they all return to Allen Park for practice. The team is coming fresh off of their first playoff appearance in a dozen years. They’ve just locked up the best wide receiver in the league in Calvin Johnson, with a contract that will ensure that he ends his career with the Lions. Things are looking up, right? Not according to Young. He proceeds to “sucker punch” a teammate in camp. Well, that’s ok, Titus. Go home, think about what you did and you can come back soon.

November 18th, 2012, a day that Young, and many fans and players won’t soon forget. During a 24-20 loss to the Green Bay Packers, Young proceeded to line up in the wrong positions on several plays and ended up in a fierce argument with an assistant coach on the sidelines. This is unacceptable in football. It is a violation of your teammates’ trust and shows that you care only about yourself in a game that focuses on the “team” aspect the most. So again, the Lions are faced with a choice. What do they do with this guy? The locker room is starting to turn against him; his coaches don’t trust him and he has earned the fans ire. So the Lions did what they had to. They unofficially suspended him by placing him on injured reserve and told him to stay away from the team.

Now here we are in 2013 and where’s Titus Young? He’s mouthing off on Twitter about how the Lions need to do something with him.

“Oh I’m not done, if y’all going to cut me let me go. I’m tired of the threats.”

“Never needed the money Give me a dollar and a ball bet I come back #HallofFame”

Enough is enough. On February 4th, the Lions officially released Young from the team. Toxic.

What do I think about this whole debacle? Good riddance. For someone who thought he was as good as Calvin Johnson, ran wrong routes because he wasn’t getting the ball enough and punches his own teammates, he simply wasn’t worth it anymore. I’m glad that he is gone and I would like to say one thing to Young. You derailed your career. I hope it was worth it.