A first-round pick in 1992, Robert Porcher had 95½ sacks in 12 seasons with the Lions, including a franchise record 15 in 1999.
Robert Porcher had his doubts.
After the Detroit Lions opened the preseason against Warren Moon, Bruce Matthews and the Houston Oilers in his rookie season of 1992, Porcher walked off the field thinking, “Man, I’m going to have to give Mr. Ford his money back.”
“I didn’t play bad, but I had just been dominating in college,” Porcher told the Free Press this week. “And now you’re here and you’re just like, ‘Bro, this is not easy.’”
It didn’t take long for Porcher to figure things out, and 11 years later he finished his career as one of the best pass rushers in Lions history.
On Saturday, the Lions announced Porcher will be inducted into the team’s "Pride of the Lions" ring of honor at their home opener next month against the Chicago Bears. The Lions-Bears game Sept. 14 at Ford Field is the team’s homecoming game this year.
He is the 22nd person to receive the honor.
“It’s a great honor,” Porcher said. “Anytime you can be recognized for anything you do in a positive light, it is a good thing and just I’ve always wanted to be one of the best here, or considered as one of the best, and I think that has happened in this capacity. So I’m excited about it.”
The 26th pick of the 1992 NFL draft, Porcher played 187 of a possible 192 games in his 12 seasons with the Lions. He became a full-time starter in 1994, made his first of three Pro Bowls three years later and retired as the Lions’ all-time leader with 95½ sacks in 2003.
Porcher, who said he had little inkling the Lions would draft him after starring collegiately at South Carolina State, had five double-digit sack seasons and still holds the team’s single-season sack record with 15 in 1999.
The Lions established the Pride of the Lions in 2009 to honor some of their all-time greats.
Porcher is the 22nd player to be inducted into the group, and the third in the past three years along with Calvin Johnson and Lomas Brown.
“I really enjoyed my time here, the good and the bad,” Porcher said. “But the thing that people used to always say that really always stood out with me, they would always say they felt like I was one of theirs because it was a little different back then than it is now. … The community, the fan base were able to just watch me come in and grow, (have) missteps, grow and then blossom into All-Pro. And then retire here. So I’ve always felt - I still say we because I mean, I’m a Lion. That’s who I am. I have never been in another team’s facility with a helmet on or playing or anything. I only know the Silverdome and Allen Park.”
Dave Birkett covers the Lions for the Detroit Free Press. Contact him at [email protected]. Follow him on Bluesky, X and Instagram at @davebirkett.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Lions to add DE Robert Porcher to Pride of Lions ring of honor
Category: Football
