ALLEN PARK, Mich. — The Detroit Lions’ search for a defensive tackle got some help from an unexpected source — disgruntled former player Shaun Rogers.

When the Browns cut Shaun Smith last week, it was Rogers who urged Smith to go to Detroit, even though Rogers left Detroit on unhappy terms a year ago.
Smith took the advice, choosing Detroit over several other teams on Monday.
“He’s my best friend, and he said he wishes he could come back and play here again,” Smith said Tuesday. “He said there are good people in the building here, good people in the locker room, and that I should just come here and play ball.”
Smith’s career in Cleveland was checkered, most notably by a weight-room fight with quarterback Brady Quinn. He was waived on Saturday.
“I went to camp thinking I would get a fair shot to make the team, but it didn’t work out,” Smith said. “I knew there was a chance I was going to get cut, so my agent had done the research about other teams that might want me.”
Smith chose not to discuss the Quinn altercation or any of the other problems he had in Cleveland.
“There are two sides to every story, but that’s old news,” he said. “I’m not going to elaborate. I’m just looking for a new start with the Lions.”
Smith and Grady Jackson could team up to give the Lions the pair of big, run-stopping defensive tackles they lacked during last year’s record-setting 0-16 season. While Rod Marinelli wanted smaller, quicker defensive linemen who could avoid blocks, new coach Jim Schwartz has the opposite opinion.
“We were interested in Shaun because we wanted to get bigger at the tackle position — we want guys who can attack,” Schwartz said. “He’s a really big person, and we want to let him go inside.”
Smith told Schwartz that, while he played last season at 350 pounds, he was told to report this season at 318. Schwartz wasn’t a fan of either number.
“We’re going to have him somewhere in between those two — 318 isn’t enough for him,” he said. “He said he lost strength at that weight. Our goal is to have players weigh as much as they can without losing any speed. That’s the point where the size should stop.”
All that was just what Smith wanted to hear.
“I know that I can get off the ball, I can push back the pocket and I can help stop the run,” he said. “They are going to give me a chance to compete and to play, and I’m going to help them win games.”
NOTES: Schwartz said that he has decided if Daunte Culpepper or Matt Stafford will start Saturday’s preseason opener against Atlanta, but hasn’t told the players who he picked. “I don’t want the focus to be on who is doing what against Atlanta — we have enough to do out here. We won’t even think about the Falcons until Thursday.” ... WR Calvin Johnson participated in some drills Tuesday, but did not catch balls because of his sprained thumb. ... S Daniel Bullocks (knee) is expected to be shut down for a few days, while rookies S Louis Delmas (knee) and TE Brandon Pettigrew (thigh) are being slowly worked back into practice.