Lions receiver Titus Young has been one of the poster children for the team’s reputation as an undisciplined bunch, but after Young was sent home from offseason work this summer for sucker punching teammate Louis Delmas, he said his days of causing problems were over.
So how long did it take Young to break that promise? One game into the regular season.
Lions coach Jim Schwartz benched Young on Sunday after he picked up a 15-yard penalty for head butting Rams cornerback Janoris Jenkins, and Schwartz said afterward that he was frustrated that Young didn’t just walk away.
“He didn’t do a smart thing,” Schwartz said of Young. “We knew what was going to happen in some situations. He and a couple of guys [Jenkins and Rams defensive back Cortland Finnegan] were going back and forth, and the whole thing was right in front of me. It looked like he was going to do the right thing and walk away, but at the last second he turned and made a really dumb decision.”
Dumb decisions have been far too common for Young. And Schwartz’s messages don’t seem to be getting through.