Lions' Tom Lewand grateful for his turnaround moment

When asked during the Lions' first training camp practice how he's holding up during what has been a difficult summer for him, he excitedly exclaimed, "I feel great."

The Lions president is especially thankful that his poor judgment didn't injure any innocents on the evening of June 25, when a Roscommon County sheriff's deputy arrested him on suspicion of drunken driving. He's grateful for the opportunity for personal growth in the aftermath of a public humiliation, promising to work hard in getting his life together. Everyone roots for his success.

"I'm moving forward," Lewand said.

He's looking forward to returning to the relative anonymity of the front office, but he's currently front and center with the ongoing Ndamukong Suh rookie contract negotiations. Common sense would suggest that both sides are reasonably close to an agreement, but there was an ESPN report Sunday that Suh's agent is demanding more guaranteed money than the $50 million St. Louis awarded quarterback and No. 1 overall pick Sam Bradford. (Suh's agent, Eugene Parker, wrote in an e-mail to the Free Press that he was not looking for a contract larger than Bradford's.)

But if he is, this impasse could turn ugly.

This is the part of the NFL calendar when the team's chief contract negotiator earns his keep. Lewand's primary responsibilities come prior to the start of the regular season, justly calling into question the severity of NFL commissioner Roger Goodell's suspension of Lewand for 30 days beginning Aug. 25 for violating the league's personal conduct policy after he plead guilty July 9 to operating a vehicle while impaired. The league also fined him $100,000.

The initial response was that Goodell came down harder on a first-time offending chief executive than he would have on a player, but the timing of the suspension is a wrist slap relative to Goodell's mandate that individual recklessness should bring forth collective consequences. Stripping a team of an important player for a month could detrimentally affect that team's performance. That's the point of the suspension, showing the actions of one could negatively affect the many.

But how does a vacated presidency through much of September affect the team?

Lewand will have already negotiated the rookie contracts -- his most important responsibility up to that point.

If Goodell were serious about sending a message that team executives must meet a higher standard than players, then the timing of any suspension should have precluded Lewand from any involvement in the rookie negotiations. But the way the NFL set up the suspension, it's as though Goodell is allowing Lewand to handle all his vital business matters before sending him to the woodshed when he has nothing but downtime, anyway.

Then what's the point of the suspension?

It's nothing more than a symbolic appeasement of the players.

Lewand doesn't know how other NFL players feel about how the league handled his situation. His lone concern is his own players, and he admitted how emotionally moving it was for him to get such strong support from them. Many Lions contacted him soon after they learned of his arrest, just to make sure he was all right.

Lewand's very appreciative of what he has now, a positive step considering how much more he could've lost.