It was overdue for some, but it finally happened Monday.  The Lions cut ties with wide receiver Titus Young after just two seasons. I said he would never wear a Lions uniform again after his last episode that forced the team to send him home and place him on "injured reserve." The problem is he should have never been drafted in the first place.  Not because he was a wide receiver and the Lions had other pressing needs (I had lobbied for Stefan Wisniewski or Rahim Moore at the time), but because he had a bad track record as a selfish kid in high school and college.  

The Lions should have done more homework on him and if they did and uncovered those obvious issues, they should have stuck to the reports and made a safer choice.  Young has been disruptive since he stepped foot at the Lions facility.  This did not just happen in the off-season when he sucker punched Louis Delmas.  Young has thought highly of himself since his rookie season and wasn't afraid to tell anyone who would listen that he's the best receiver in the room.  I don't mind an athlete with confidence.  It makes them who they are and helps them reach the pinnacle of their sport, but there is something to be said for humility and understanding one's place on a TEAM.  Young is a self-absorbed immature punk.  He caused problems in meeting rooms and huddles; he flaunted his arrogance on twitter and embarassed the team and organization, forcing their hand to cut him. 

I am convinced someone within the organization felt like they could "handle" Young's side show routine and under-estimated the wide receiver's diva quirks. Understand, players can deal with some of the "look-at-me" attitudes, but once a player loses trust, it is tough to regain it.  Titus Young lost the trust of his teammates and as one player told me, "all Titus had to do was standup and apologize, but he couldn't even do that so screw him." I get that.  As guys we can forgive a lot.  You can call us names or even point fingers, but we can move on with a sincere apology.  Young wasn't even mature enough to do that.  The Lions now have two players remaining from that 2011 draft after cutting linebacker Doug Hogue (5th rd) and Johnny Culbreath (7th rd).  They are left with Nick Fairley and Mikel LeShoure and both of them have had off-field issues.  It's almost a waste of an entire draft class and no team is good enough to overcome that, especially this one.

[PODCAST] Mike O'Hara
Mike O'Hara of DetroitLions.com joins Shep to talk about Titus Young's release and whether or not the team needs to address the receiver position this offseason

[PODCAST] Titus Young Released P1
Shep talks about Titus Young being released by the Detroit Lions, and the interesting timing of the move.

[PODCAST] Titus Young Released P2
Shep continues to talk about Titus Young's release and the possibility of a disagreement with Matthew Stafford.

[PODCAST] Titus Young Released P3
Shep wraps up the Titus Young talk with some of the unknown reasons why the receiver was released and looks back at the 2011 draft class.