1996 Detroit Lions season

{{main|1996 NFL draft}}

{{NFL team draft start

| year = 1996

| teamname = Detroit Lions

}}

{{NFL team draft entry

| round = 1

| pick = 17

| player = Reggie Brown

| position = LB

| college = Texas A&M

| notes = from Seattle

| maderoster = yes

| probowl = no

}}

{{NFL team draft entry

| round = 1

| pick = 23

| player = Jeff Hartings

| position = G

| college = Penn State

| notes =

| maderoster = yes

| probowl = yes

}}

{{NFL team draft entry

| round = 3

| pick = 76

| player = Ryan Stewart

| position = S

| college = Georgia Tech

| notes = from New England

| maderoster = yes

| probowl = no

}}

{{NFL team draft entry

| round = 4

| pick = 129

| player = Brad Ford

| position = CB

| college = Alabama

| notes = compensatory pick

| maderoster = yes

| probowl = no

}}

{{NFL team draft entry

| round = 5

| pick = 158

| player = Kerwin Waldroup

| position = DT

| college = Central State

| notes =

| maderoster = yes

| probowl = no

}}

{{NFL team draft end

| hof = no

}}

Notes

• Detroit received San Diego's first-round selection (21st) in exchange for Detroit's second-round selection in 1995.
• Detroit traded up from the pick it received from San Diego (21st) with Seattle to the 17th pick, giving up a third-round selection (91st) in return. The 91st pick was received from Kansas City in exchange for S William White.
• Detroit traded its second- and seventh-round selections (55th and 236th) to Denver in exchange for RB Glyn Milburn.
• Detroit traded up from its third-round selection (86th) with New England to the Patriots' third-round selection (76th), giving up its fourth- and sixth-round selections (119th and 195th).

{{NFL final staff

| year = 1996

| team = Detroit Lions

| front_office =

• Chairman and president – William Clay Ford Sr.
• Vice chairman – William Clay Ford Jr.
• Executive vice president and chief operating officer – Chuck Schmidt
• Vice president of player personnel – Ron Hughes
• Vice president of football administration – Larry Lee
• Director of pro scouting – Kevin Colbert

| head_coach =

• Head coach – Wayne Fontes
• Assistant head coach – Dave Levy
• Assistant head coach/defense – John Teerlinck

| offensive =

• Offensive coordinator – Tom Moore
• Quarterbacks – Greg Landry
• Running backs – Mo Forte
• Receivers – Charlie Sanders
• Tight ends/offensive assistant – Steve Kazor
• Offensive line – Paul Boudreau

| defensive =

• Defensive coordinator – Jim Eddy
• Linebackers – Howard Tippett
• Defensive backs – John Fontes
• Defensive assistant/lbs and dbs – Don Clemons

| special_teams =

• Special teams – Frank Novak

| strength =

• Strength and conditioning/special teams assistant – Bert Hill

}}

{{NFL final roster

| year = 1996

| team = Detroit Lions

| prefix =

| active =

| inactive =

| PS =

| quarterbacks =

{{NFLplayer|13|Johnny Johnson|d=quarterback|rookie=y}}

{{NFLplayer| 1|Don Majkowski}}

{{NFLplayer|19|Scott Mitchell|d=quarterback}}

| running_backs =

{{NFLplayer|26|Eric Lynch|d=American football}}

{{NFLplayer|33|Glyn Milburn|KR/PR}}

{{NFLplayer|34|Ron Rivers}}

{{NFLplayer|20|Barry Sanders}}

{{NFLplayer|30|Cory Schlesinger|FB}}

| wide_receivers =

{{NFLplayer|17|Miles Macik|rookie=y}}

{{NFLplayer|83|Aubrey Matthews}}

{{NFLplayer|10|Kez McCorvey}}

{{NFLplayer|84|Herman Moore}}

{{NFLplayer|87|Johnnie Morton}}

{{NFLplayer|80|Brett Perriman}}

| tight_ends =

{{NFLplayer|89|Pete Metzelaars}}

{{NFLplayer|82|Derek Price|d=American football|rookie=y}}

{{NFLplayer|49|Eric Stocz|rookie=y}}

| offensive_linemen =

{{NFLplayer|77|Mike Compton|d=American football|G/LS}}

{{NFLplayer|76|Scott Conover|G/T}}

{{NFLplayer|53|Kevin Glover|C}}

{{NFLplayer|74|Chris Harrison|d=American football|rookie=y|G}}

{{NFLplayer|64|Jeff Hartings|rookie=y|G}}

{{NFLplayer|66|Hessley Hempstead|C/G}}

{{NFLplayer|70|Jeff Jones|d=American football|T}}

{{NFLplayer|71|Zefross Moss|T}}

{{NFLplayer|72|Ray Roberts|d=American football|T}}

{{NFLplayer|62|Tony Semple|G/LS}}

| defensive_linemen =

{{NFLplayer|96|Shane Bonham|DT}}

{{NFLplayer|92|Shane Dronett|DE}}

{{NFLplayer|94|Luther Elliss|DT}}

{{NFLplayer|91|Robert Porcher|DE}}

{{NFLplayer|97|Tracy Scroggins|DE}}

{{NFLplayer|98|Henry Thomas|d=American football|DT}}

{{NFLplayer|93|Kerwin Waldroup|rookie=y|DE}}

{{NFLplayer|90|Keith Washington|d=American football|DE}}

{{NFLplayer|95|Mike Wells|d=defensive lineman|DT}}

| linebackers =

• {{player|51}} Tom Beer OLB

{{NFLplayer|59|Reggie Brown|d=linebacker|rookie=y|OLB}}

{{NFLplayer|99|Pepper Johnson|OLB/MLB}}

{{NFLplayer|51|Antonio London|OLB}}

{{NFLplayer|52|Scott Kowalkowski|OLB}}

| defensive_backs =

{{NFLplayer|36|Bennie Blades|SS}}

{{NFLplayer|27|Jocelyn Borgella|CB}}

{{NFLplayer|44|Brad Ford|rookie=y|CB}}

{{NFLplayer|25|Greg Jeffries|CB}}

{{NFLplayer|39|Van Malone|FS}}

{{NFLplayer|47|Ryan McNeil|d=American football|CB}}

{{NFLplayer|31|Corey Raymond|CB}}

{{NFLplayer|28|Ron Rice|d=American football|SS}}

{{NFLplayer|42|Ryan Stewart|d=American football|rookie=y|S}}

{{NFLplayer|24|Richard Woodley|CB}}

| special_teams =

{{NFLplayer| 4|Jason Hanson|K}}

{{NFLplayer| 3|Mark Royals|P}}

|Reserve Lists =

{{NFLplayer|57|Stephen Boyd|d=American football|LB|IR}}

{{NFLplayer|81|Kevin Hickman|TE|IR}}

{{NFLplayer|86|David Sloan|d=American football|TE|IR}}

|Practice Squad ={{NFLplayer|15|Tommie Boyd|WR}}

{{NFLplayer|21|Allen Williams|d=running back|RB}}

53 active, 3 inactive, 2 practice squad

}}

1996 was the first time since 1984 that the Lions played the San Diego Chargers,[https://www.pro-football-reference.com/play-index/tgl_finder.cgi?request=1&match=game&year_min=1940&year_max=2015&game_type=R&playoff_round=&game_num_min=0&game_num_max=99&week_num_min=0&week_num_max=99&game_day_of_week=&game_time=&time_zone=&game_location=&surface=&roof=&stadium_id=&temperature_gtlt=lt&temperature=&game_result=&overtime=&league_id=&team_id=det&team_conf_id=&team_div_id=&opp_id=sdg&opp_conf_id=&opp_div_id=&team_off_scheme=&team_def_align=&opp_off_scheme=&opp_def_align=&conference_game=&division_game=&tm_is_playoff=&opp_is_playoff=&tm_is_winning=&opp_is_winning=&tm_scored_first=&tm_led=&tm_trailed=&tm_won_toss=&c1stat=&c1comp=gt&c1val=&c2stat=&c2comp=gt&c2val=&c3stat=&c3comp=gt&c3val=&c4stat=&c4comp=gt&c4val=&c5comp=&c5gtlt=lt&c6mult=1.0&c6comp=&order_by=game_date&order_by_asc=Y Detroit Lions v San Diego Chargers] and the first time they had met the Philadelphia Eagles in the regular season since 1986.[https://www.pro-football-reference.com/play-index/tgl_finder.cgi?request=1&match=game&year_min=1940&year_max=2015&game_type=&playoff_round=&game_num_min=0&game_num_max=99&week_num_min=0&week_num_max=99&game_day_of_week=&game_time=&time_zone=&game_location=&surface=&roof=&stadium_id=&temperature_gtlt=lt&temperature=&game_result=&overtime=&league_id=&team_id=det&team_conf_id=&team_div_id=&opp_id=phi&opp_conf_id=&opp_div_id=&team_off_scheme=&team_def_align=&opp_off_scheme=&opp_def_align=&conference_game=&division_game=&tm_is_playoff=&opp_is_playoff=&tm_is_winning=&opp_is_winning=&tm_scored_first=&tm_led=&tm_trailed=&tm_won_toss=&c1stat=&c1comp=gt&c1val=&c2stat=&c2comp=gt&c2val=&c3stat=&c3comp=gt&c3val=&c4stat=&c4comp=gt&c4val=&c5comp=&c5gtlt=lt&c6mult=1.0&c6comp=&order_by=game_date&order_by_asc=Y Detroit Lions v Philadelphia Eagles] The reason for this is that before the admission of the Texans in 2002, NFL scheduling formulas for games outside a team’s division were much more influenced by table position during the previous season.[https://www.pro-football-reference.com/blog/?p=521 History of the NFL’s Structure and Formats]

{{1996 NFC Central standings}}

{{Reflist}}

• [https://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/det/1996.htm 1996 Detroit Lions] at Pro-Football-Reference.com

{{Detroit Lions}}

{{Detroit Lions seasons}}

{{1996 NFL season by team}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:1996 Detroit Lions Season}}

Category:Detroit Lions seasons

Detroit Lions

Detroit Lions