For the second time in his career, Matthieu Betts is trying to get a job with an NFL team, this time with the Detroit Lions.
And the least we can say is that things seem to be going well for the Quebec quarterback hunter. Earlier in June, Lions head coach Dan Campbell had sent flowers to the Quebecer.
“I would tell you he has more versatility than I expected,” Campbell told reporters assigned to cover the Lions.
“We’re asking him to do some things at inside linebacker where, yes, he has to bring pressure, but he’s also in coverage. I’ll tell you what, he’s got good hips for a big guy. He can run, and he’s smart. So there is versatility. »
Well aware of Campbell’s praise, Betts wants to keep the pedal to the metal.
“It’s positive, but football is a business daily. All the better if I did good things, but what will count are the things I do well in the future. Whether in training camp or in preparatory games. It’s always worth repeating,” Betts told our colleague Jean-Christophe Bertrand as part of the Washington Commanders cornerback Benjamin St-Juste’s golf tournament.
The Montrealer is not his first attempt to carve out a place on an NFL team. In 2019, he failed to convince the Bears to keep him with them. On the other hand, a lot has happened since then.
“I can’t say there’s one thing I learned that changes everything for me. But the baggage over the years playing with better players and against better players, working with different coaches, is an accumulation that allows me to become better as a player. In my situation as a player coming from the CFL, I believe that my versatility can work in my favor. It’s football… the only thing you can do is be good at football. »
With the Lions, Betts will have the chance to rub shoulders with Aidan Hutchinson whose reputation as a quarterback hunter is well established.
“I can look at what he does well, without necessarily imitating him. I can adjust things in my game. I don’t want to be like Hutchinson or another good player on the team. I want to focus on what I do well,” Betts said.
And in the Lions’ first preseason game, against the New York Jets, Betts would like to tackle his former quarterback with the British Columbia Lions Nathan Rourke.
“That would definitely be on my bucket list,” laughs Betts.
2024-06-21 00:47:00
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