Lions Receiver Lance Moore Gets Time Off For Newborn Daughter; Caldwell Says 'I'm Big On Fatherhood'
By Ashley Scoby
@AshleyScoby
Two days before he was set to play in the Lions' second preseason game against the Redskins, Lance Moore got the phone call he had been waiting for. Except this one had nothing to do with football, or the position battle that he's immersed in at wide receiver with the Lions.
His fiancé, pregnant with his daughter, was in labor in Tampa Bay.
The only problem – besides potentially missing that game – was getting there.
"Of course, I'm freaking out because there are no flights out midnight or after," Moore said. "Of course I had to wait until first thing in the morning. My flight was at 5:40. I left the hotel at like 4 a.m., panic mode of course. Didn't sleep all night, just worried about trying to get there on time.
Moore did get to Tampa in time for the birth of his first child, Graylee. Then he got even better news: that the Lions were giving him more time off to be with his fiancé and new daughter. He would get to remain in Florida just a little longer, instead of traveling to Washington to play in a game he would have trouble focusing on anyways.
"The original plan was for me to fly into Tampa Wednesday and be there for her birth and then fly to DC Thursday morning to try to play in the game," he said. "I didn't necessarily want to miss a game. But the coaches said, 'Hey man, this is a little bit more important right now than trying to come to the preseason game.'"
Moore has certainly been in enough preseason games during his career: He's been in the league since 2006, playing for the Saints from then until 2013. He also played for Pittsburgh last year, and was picked up by the Lions during the offseason to add to their wide receiver depth.
Within Detroit's locker room, there is even more familiarity with Moore – he played under Lions offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi when both were in New Orleans.
But according to Lions head coach Jim Caldwell, it wouldn't have mattered if Moore was the veteran that he was, a rookie, or someone in between.
"Those moments don't come back to you," he said. "It's important for them to take part in those. I'm big on fatherhood and particularly that guys be a part of their children's lives. How can we say that a football game is more important than the birth of a child?"
That philosophy is one with which Moore, 31, fully agrees. Although he had been willing to play in the game against the Redskins if he was needed, he admitted it was hard to be away from his family, especially now.
Any extra moments he could steal with them would be well worth missing a few preseason snaps.
"It's amazing," Moore said. "Just the day they told me I could go ahead and go I was thankful, but then giving me a couple extra days to be away, and not just to be away and be with my family, but miss work. … Some things are a little more important than what's going on at work. Not to downplay what's going on here, but the birth of my first child I think takes precedence over that."
