Fluellen On His Up-And-Down NFL Journey: 'It's Kind Of A Testimony For Other People'
By Ashley Dunkak
@AshleyDunkak
CBS DETROIT - The last couple of times the Detroit Lions have released defensive tackle Andre Fluellen, his teammates have foregone goodbyes, instead saying they will see him in a couple of weeks.
Such optimism makes sense given Fluellen's unique relationship with the Lions, who have signed or re-signed him eight times in his career. Accordingly, Fluellen has been cut a number of times; he says he does not even know how many anymore. Despite his persistently up-and-down journey in the NFL, however, Fluellen expresses only gratitude.
"It's kind of a testimony for other people," Fluellen said recently. "Stuff just happens, football, life in general. Stuff happens, things don't fall your way, but if you persevere through anything, you kind of get through it. That's kind of my testimony for other people. I'm kind of glad it happened to me so I can show other people you can do whatever you want to do.
"Five or six weeks ago I was sitting on my couch watching the games," Fluellen added. "Earlier this season I actually went to a game as a fan, so just to be, go from a fan back to a player in the same year, man, it's kind of special."
The Lions added Fluellen to the roster this season after defensive tackle Nick Fairley suffered an injury in the team's game in London against the Atlanta Falcons. While Fluellen had not played this season, his history with the team - including defensive line coaches Jim Washburn and Kris Kocurek - helped him adjust, and his conditioning impressed the Lions.
The perseverance to stick around also made an impression. In between stints with the Lions, Fluellen also spent time with the Chicago Bears and the Miami Dolphins.
"It's very difficult to be in the situation that he's been in over the years," Lions head coach Jim Caldwell said. "At some point in time I think you'd often times say, 'Hey, I've done this enough.' It can be a bit disruptive to your life depending upon what you have going on - family, maybe another occupation in the meantime and things of that nature. So I marvel at the fact that he's one of those guys that comes back in great shape, too.
"We find it frequently that we may have a guy that we bring back in and thinking about signing this guy, we look at him and he's out of shape, he hasn't been running for a couple weeks, maybe he's gotten down because his chances of coming back are slim, it's happened to him enough times where he's a bit disillusioned," Caldwell continued. "But [Fluellen] fights all that and comes back in great shape and ready to perform right away."
For Fluellen, not landing with a team earlier this season likely worked in his favor in the long run because it saved him the wear-and-tear that players suffer during the long season.
"I tell people all the time - they kind of ask me what my mindset was - I was like, 'If I get cut, that's just part of the business, but at the same time, if I get picked up later in the year, everybody's kind of falling down, and I'm as fresh as I've ever been,'" Fluellen said. "It's actually a pretty good thing."
Fluellen said the keys to staying ready for an opportunity include staying positive, continuing to work out and regarding oneself as an active player who just does not have a team at the moment. Fluellen has not sought advice from players who have endured similar situations, but he takes care to share his own experiences with others who find themselves suddenly out of work.
"Especially after camp, rookies get cut or whatever like that, I try to make sure I can talk to the ones that - especially in the d-line room, just knowing, 'Hey, this stuff just kind of happens. Some of it's your fault; some of it isn't. Some of it's just a numbers game,'" Fluellen said. "It's just like I said - keep your head up and stay positive."
Fluellen has enjoyed re-joining the Lions once again this season. It certainly does not hurt that the team has a record of 10-4 and a legitimate shot at the playoffs and perhaps even a division title and a first-round bye.
"It's just been great," Fluellen said. "It's just so much fun. Coming back to a coach like Coach Caldwell and just the way he runs things, and just how tight the d-line unit is right now, it's just so much fun. I'm just really grateful to be here."
