Mathieu Betts is confident about his NFL shot despite no guarantee from the Detroit Lions.
Mathieu Betts, a Canadian defensive lineman, received no guaranteed money from the Detroit Lions when he signed a one-year contract with the team on Tuesday, but he is optimistic about his chances of winning a permanent spot on the roster.
“I’m excited for the opportunity to compete and try to make that roster, and I believe I have a good chance of doing so,” Betts told reporters via videoconference on Wednesday. “Especially in the NFL, that’s the group where we were most certain that I could break through. It was my first exercise of the offseason, and the connection, energy, and conversations I had with the staff there just felt right.”
Betts did three workouts down south following a spectacular season with the BC Lions, and according to insiders, he received at least one NFL offer with guaranteed money. He chose to forego that security and sign with Detroit, a team that has recently added unheralded players with no signing incentives to its 53-man roster.
The Montreal native made the decision after consulting with Betts’ family and friends, as well as his agent, Sasha Ghavami, who has previously represented Dr. Laurent Duvernay-Tardif and Antony Auclair.
Betts is unsure how he will be employed in Detroit’s scheme, but it appears that his strong motor is what drew the team’s interest.
“As soon as we announced the team that was our final option, I felt relieved and great, therefore I knew I had made the proper decision because I felt at peace with it. I’m excited and quite proud of it. “I believe it is correct, so that is all I can ask at this point,” he said.
“They noticed my strength on film, which they loved because it suited their team’s culture of hard effort. The one thing they told me that stood out from the tape was that they saw someone working hard, and after that box was checked, they began looking at different athletic and football capacities.”
This isn’t Betts’ first time in the NFL; he signed with the Chicago Bears in 2019, following his great collegiate career at Université Laval. He was waived at the end of training camp and signed his first CFL contract 10 days later, joining the Edmonton Elks, who had drafted him in the first round that year.
The NFL was not on his radar when he headed north, and Betts has no plans to adjust his training program now that he is back south, believing that he has grown stronger, leaner, and more explosive since his previous NFL opportunity.
“You can’t purchase experience, and I’m trying to impart that to young players. Some of them get it, and some of them will get it (as they get older), but when you go to a training camp in the NFL and then play four seasons in the CFL, you see good players, you gain experience, you see pre-snap keys faster, and it just helps you make more decisive decisions and play faster,” he explained.
“I don’t think there’s anything that I did five years ago that I don’t do better now, so I feel like I’m in a better situation football-wise to make an NFL roster.”
Betts has yet to meet Detroit’s charming head coach, Dan Campbell, who made international headlines in 2021 when he discussed his squad biting opposition players’ kneecaps. The majority of his interaction has been with Rob Lohman, the Lions’ director of pro scouting, although Brad Holmes, the club’s general manager, became involved last week as Betts made his final decision.
The 28-year-old gained a lot of friends in Vancouver during the last two years while recording 68 defensive tackles, four special teams tackles, 25 sacks, and four forced fumbles in 36 games. He was voted a CFL all-star and the league’s Most Outstanding Defensive Player in 2023. He is not ruling out a return to the CFL at some point in the future and is grateful for the support he has received as he prepares to retry the NFL.
“Nothing is out of the question for what lies ahead, and I am sad to leave British Columbia. I informed many of my teammates about my choice last week. Everyone is incredibly thrilled and excited for me, which gives me a lot of confidence in my decision to pursue the NFL opportunity. But I’m fine with it; I’m not staring in the rearview mirror and am focused on what’s ahead. “I’m just trying to have fun and make the most of this opportunity,” Betts explained.
“I received support and assistance from numerous individuals both on and off the football field. I feel like I’ve pushed the limits of what I’m capable of. I don’t want to limit myself, and I want to go as far as I can.”
