1987 Detroit Lions Roster
National Football League (NFL)
Team Record: 4-11
Finishing 4th in the NFL's Central Division of the National Football Conference
Coach: Darryl Rogers (4-11)
Location: Detroit, Michigan
1987 Detroit Lions StatisticsTeam Record: 4-11
Finishing 4th in the NFL's Central Division of the National Football Conference
Coach: Darryl Rogers (4-11)
Location: Detroit, Michigan
1987 Detroit Lions Results
The Detroit Lions of the National Football League ended the 1987 season with a record of 4 wins and 11 losses, finishing fourth in the NFL's Central Division of the National Football Conference.
Detroit labored to change the scoreboard with just 269 points, while the shaky defensive squad surrendered 384. Chuck Long threw for 2,598 yards. Pete Mandley hauled in 58 balls for 720 yards.
James Jones rushed for a team-leading 342 yards for the Lions, while Garry James also buoyed the ground attack.
James Griffin intercepted 6 opponent throws. Mike Cofer sacked opposing passers 8.5 times.
Darryl Rogers coached the team.
Click on column headings to sort.
| # | Player | Pos. | Birth Date | Height | Weight | College | Hometown | GP | GS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 50 | Earnest Adams | LB | March 12, 1959 | 6'3" | 226 | Illinois | Fort Lauderdale, FL USA | 3 | 0 |
| 6 | Jim Arnold | P | January 31, 1961 | 6'2" | 215 | Vanderbilt | Dalton, GA USA | 11 | 0 |
| 68 | Steve Baack | NT-G-DE-DT | November 16, 1960 | 6'4" | 264 | Oregon | Ames, IA USA | 7 | 0 |
| 93 | Jerry Ball | NT | December 15, 1964 | 6'1" | 330 | SMU | Beaumont, TX USA | 12 | 12 |
| 61 | Scott Barrows | LG | March 31, 1963 | 6'2" | 278 | West Virginia | Marietta, OH USA | 12 | 10 |
| 99 | Bob Beemer | DE | May 14, 1963 | 6'3" | 231 | Toledo | Jackson, MI USA | 2 | 0 |
| 69 | Charles Benson | DE | November 21, 1960 | 6'3" | 267 | Baylor | Houston, TX USA | 3 | 3 |
| 25 | Karl Bernard | RB | October 12, 1964 | 5'11" | 205 | LSU | New Orleans, LA USA | 8 | 3 |
| 11 | Mike Black | P | January 18, 1961 | 6'1" | 197 | Arizona St. | Glendale, CA USA | 1 | 0 |
| 80 | Carl Bland | WR | August 17, 1961 | 5'11" | 182 | Virginia Union | Fluvanna County, VA USA | 10 | 0 |
| 95 | Steve Boadway | LB | June 20, 1962 | 6'4" | 240 | Arizona | Bakersfield, CA USA | 2 | 0 |
| 42 | John Bostic | DB | October 6, 1962 | 5'10" | 176 | Bethune-Cookman | Titusville, FL USA | 3 | 1 |
| 54 | Thomas Boyd | LB | November 24, 1959 | 6'3" | 210 | Alabama | Huntsville, AL USA | 4 | 3 |
| 86 | Danny Bradley | RB | March 2, 1963 | 5'9" | 175 | Oklahoma | Pine Bluff, AR USA | 3 | 1 |
| 75 | Lomas Brown | LT | March 30, 1963 | 6'4" | 282 | Florida | Miami, FL USA | 11 | 11 |
| 96 | Paul Butcher | LB | November 8, 1963 | 6'0" | 230 | Wayne State (MI) | Detroit, MI USA | 12 | 0 |
| 65 | Patrick Cain | C | October 1, 1962 | 6'2" | 260 | Cal Poly-Pomona | Denver, CO USA | 3 | 2 |
| 58 | Carl Carr | LB | March 26, 1964 | 6'3" | 230 | North Carolina | South Boston, VA USA | 3 | 3 |
| 89 | Jeff Chadwick | WR | December 16, 1960 | 6'3" | 190 | Grand Valley St. | Detroit, MI USA | 8 | 8 |
| 45 | Raphel Cherry | FS | December 19, 1961 | 6'0" | 194 | Hawaii | Little Rock, AR USA | 10 | 10 |
| 33 | Dexter Clark | DB | May 5, 1964 | 6'0" | 190 | Toledo | Dermott, AR USA | 2 | 0 |
| 55 | Mike Cofer | ROLB | April 7, 1960 | 6'5" | 245 | Tennessee | Knoxville, TN USA | 11 | 11 |
| 98 | Jerome Davis | NT | February 27, 1962 | 6'1" | 260 | Ball St. | Cincinnati, OH USA | 3 | 3 |
| 84 | Jerry Diorio | TE | January 11, 1962 | 6'3" | 245 | Michigan | Youngstown, OH USA | 2 | 0 |
| 44 | Tony Dollinger | RB | October 18, 1962 | 5'11" | 205 | Evangel (MO) | Winter Park, FL USA | 2 | 1 |
| 70 | Keith Dorney | RG | December 3, 1957 | 6'5" | 268 | Penn St. | Allentown, PA USA | 5 | 5 |
| 46 | Stan Edwards | RB | May 20, 1960 | 6'0" | 208 | Michigan | Detroit, MI USA | 3 | 3 |
| 42 | Gary Ellerson | RB | July 17, 1963 | 5'11" | 220 | Wisconsin | Albany, GA USA | 8 | 2 |
| 15 | Russell Erxleben | P | January 13, 1956 | 6'4" | 223 | Texas | Seguin, TX USA | 1 | 0 |
| 34 | Creig Federico | DB | May 7, 1963 | 6'2" | 205 | Iowa Central | Chicago, IL USA | 3 | 2 |
| 64 | Joe Felton | G | October 16, 1964 | 6'2" | 266 | Albion | Saginaw, MI USA | 2 | 2 |
| 77 | Keith Ferguson | RDE | April 3, 1959 | 6'5" | 252 | Ohio St. | Miami, FL USA | 12 | 9 |
| 25 | Anthony Fields | DB | January 17, 1964 | 6'1" | 192 | East. Michigan | Mobile, AL USA | 3 | 0 |
| 10 | Brendan Folmar | QB | April 2, 1964 | 6'1" | 200 | California (PA) | Birmingham, AL USA | 1 | 0 |
| 40 | Duane Galloway | LCB | November 7, 1961 | 5'8" | 181 | Arizona St. | Los Angeles, CA USA | 10 | 7 |
| 79 | William Gay | RDE | May 28, 1955 | 6'5" | 250 | USC | San Francisco, CA USA | 11 | 5 |
| 71 | Chris Geile | G | April 14, 1964 | 6'4" | 305 | East. Illinois | Anaheim, CA USA | 3 | 1 |
| 98 | Dennis Gibson | RILB | February 8, 1964 | 6'2" | 240 | Iowa St. | Des Moines, IA USA | 12 | 12 |
| 81 | Jimmie Giles | TE | November 8, 1954 | 6'3" | 239 | Alcorn St. | Natchez, MS USA | 4 | 1 |
| 53 | Kevin Glover | RG | June 17, 1963 | 6'2" | 278 | Maryland | Washington, DC USA | 12 | 9 |
| 33 | William Graham | DB | September 27, 1959 | 5'11" | 191 | Texas | Silsbee, TX USA | 2 | 1 |
| 62 | Curtis Green | DE-DT-NT | June 3, 1957 | 6'3" | 256 | Alabama St. | Quincy, FL USA | 12 | 0 |
| 34 | James Griffin | SS | September 7, 1961 | 6'2" | 197 | Middle Tenn. St. | Camilla, GA USA | 12 | 12 |
| 80 | Darrell Grymes | WR | December 4, 1961 | 6'2" | 182 | Central State (OH) | Washington, DC USA | 2 | 2 |
| 35 | Alvin Hall | DB | August 12, 1958 | 5'10" | 193 | Miami (OH) | Dayton, OH USA | 3 | 3 |
| 23 | Maurice Harvey | DB | January 14, 1956 | 5'10" | 190 | Ball St. | Cincinnati, OH USA | 2 | 2 |
| 43 | Ivan Hicks | DB | June 30, 1963 | 6'2" | 185 | Michigan | Camden, NJ USA | 1 | 0 |
| 94 | Mark Hicks | LB | November 7, 1960 | 6'2" | 225 | Arizona St. | Los Angeles, CA USA | 1 | 0 |
| 47 | Steve Hirsch | DB | May 18, 1962 | 6'0" | 195 | Northern Illinois | Pontiac, MI USA | 3 | 1 |
| 18 | Todd Hons | QB | September 5, 1961 | 6'1" | 195 | Arizona St. | Torrance, CA USA | 3 | 3 |
| 83 | Melvin Hoover | WR | September 21, 1959 | 6'0" | 185 | Arizona St. | Charlotte, NC USA | 2 | 0 |
| 32 | Garry James | RB | September 4, 1963 | 5'10" | 214 | LSU | Marrero, LA USA | 8 | 7 |
| 95 | George Jamison | LB | September 30, 1962 | 6'1" | 232 | Cincinnati | Bridgeton, NJ USA | 12 | 0 |
| 87 | Gilvanni Johnson | WR | September 12, 1963 | 6'1" | 195 | Michigan | Birmingham, AL USA | 3 | 0 |
| 77 | Rick Johnson | T | December 12, 1963 | 6'6" | 255 | Grand Valley St. | Greenville, MI USA | 1 | 0 |
| 30 | James Jones | FB | March 21, 1961 | 6'2" | 229 | Florida | Pompano Beach, FL USA | 11 | 11 |
| 87 | Vyto Kab | TE | December 23, 1959 | 6'5" | 243 | Penn St. | Albany, GA USA | 7 | 2 |
| 73 | Jeff Kacmarek | NT | April 12, 1963 | 6'2" | 240 | West. Michigan | Oak Lawn, IL USA | 3 | 0 |
| 92 | Angelo King | LB | February 10, 1958 | 6'1" | 224 | South Carolina St. | Columbia, SC USA | 1 | 1 |
| 1 | Matt Kinzer | P | June 17, 1963 | 6'3" | 225 | Purdue | Indianapolis, IN USA | 1 | 0 |
| 64 | Paul Kiser | G | November 19, 1963 | 6'4" | 272 | Wake Forest | Valdese, NC USA | 1 | 0 |
| 30 | Nick Kowgios | RB | November 19, 1962 | 6'0" | 216 | Lafayette | Yonkers, NY USA | 3 | 0 |
| 83 | Gary Lee | KR | February 12, 1965 | 6'1" | 202 | Georgia Tech | Albany, GA USA | 12 | 3 |
| 81 | Mark Lewis | TE | May 5, 1961 | 6'2" | 239 | Texas A&M | Houston, TX USA | 9 | 1 |
| 50 | Danny Lockett | LB | July 11, 1964 | 6'2" | 239 | Arizona | Fort Valley, GA USA | 13 | 1 |
| 16 | Chuck Long | QB | February 18, 1963 | 6'4" | 217 | Iowa | Norman, OK USA | 12 | 12 |
| 82 | Pete Mandley | PR | July 29, 1961 | 5'10" | 191 | Northern Arizona | Phoenix, AZ USA | 12 | 12 |
| 57 | Vernon Maxwell | LB | October 25, 1961 | 6'2" | 233 | Arizona St. | Birmingham, AL USA | 12 | 1 |
| 21 | Bob McDonough | DB | March 7, 1963 | 6'1" | 170 | California (PA) | Pittsburgh, PA USA | 3 | 0 |
| 97 | George McDuffie | DE | January 20, 1963 | 6'6" | 270 | Salem | Vicksburg, MS USA | 3 | 2 |
| 29 | Bruce McNorton | RCB | February 28, 1959 | 5'11" | 175 | Georgetown (KY) | Daytona Beach, FL USA | 12 | 12 |
| 74 | Joe Milinichik | G-T | March 30, 1963 | 6'5" | 290 | North Carolina St. | Allentown, PA USA | 11 | 0 |
| 14 | John Misko | P | October 1, 1954 | 6'5" | 207 | Oregon St. | Highland Park, MI USA | 1 | 0 |
| 52 | Steve Mott | C | March 24, 1961 | 6'3" | 266 | Alabama | New Orleans, LA USA | 11 | 11 |
| 3 | Eddie Murray | K | August 29, 1956 | 5'10" | 177 | Tulane | Halifax, NS Canada | 12 | 0 |
| 86 | Mark Nichols | WR | October 29, 1959 | 6'2" | 210 | San Jose St. | Bakersfield, CA USA | 12 | 1 |
| 53 | Tony Office | LB | February 24, 1960 | 6'2" | 250 | Illinois St. | Tifton, GA USA | 3 | 2 |
| 67 | Greg Orton | G | August 9, 1962 | 6'1" | 265 | Nebraska | Nebraska City, NE USA | 3 | 3 |
| 49 | Tony Paige | RB | October 14, 1962 | 5'10" | 225 | Virginia Tech | Washington, SC USA | 5 | 0 |
| 19 | Mike Prindle | K | November 12, 1963 | 5'9" | 160 | West. Michigan | Grand Rapids, MI USA | 3 | 0 |
| 68 | Jerry Quaerna | T | October 9, 1963 | 6'6" | 275 | Michigan | Janesville, WI USA | 3 | 3 |
| 87 | Derrick Ramsey | TE | December 23, 1956 | 6'4" | 230 | Kentucky | Hastings, FL USA | 1 | 0 |
| 51 | Shelton Robinson | LILB | September 14, 1960 | 6'2" | 233 | North Carolina | Goldsboro, NC USA | 12 | 12 |
| 60 | Reggie Rogers | DE | January 21, 1964 | 6'6" | 278 | Washington | Sacramento, CA USA | 6 | 0 |
| 93 | Tim Ross | LB | December 27, 1958 | 6'5" | 225 | Bowling Green | Toledo, OH USA | 3 | 0 |
| 84 | Rob Rubick | TE | September 27, 1960 | 6'3" | 232 | Grand Valley St. | Newberry, MI USA | 9 | 8 |
| 97 | Dan Saleaumua | DT-NT-DE | November 11, 1964 | 6'0" | 305 | Arizona St. | San Diego, CA USA | 9 | 0 |
| 73 | Harvey Salem | RT | January 15, 1961 | 6'6" | 283 | California | Berkeley, CA USA | 11 | 11 |
| 64 | Eric Sanders | T-G-C | October 22, 1958 | 6'6" | 277 | Nevada-Reno | Reno, NV USA | 12 | 0 |
| 28 | Chris Sheffield | DB | January 9, 1963 | 6'1" | 193 | Albany State (GA) | Cairo, GA USA | 6 | 0 |
| 41 | Ricky Smith | DB-WR | July 20, 1960 | 6'0" | 182 | Alabama St. | Quincy, FL USA | 12 | 0 |
| 60 | Chuck Steele | C | June 22, 1964 | 6'1" | 255 | California | Los Angeles, CA USA | 3 | 1 |
| 71 | Rich Strenger | T | March 10, 1960 | 6'7" | 280 | Michigan | Port Washington, WI USA | 3 | 3 |
| 44 | Ivory Sully | DB | June 20, 1957 | 6'0" | 198 | Delaware | Salisbury, MD USA | 11 | 1 |
| 90 | Robert Thompson | LB | February 4, 1960 | 6'3" | 227 | Michigan | Chicago, IL USA | 3 | 2 |
| 99 | Stuart Tolle | NT | February 7, 1962 | 6'3" | 265 | Bowling Green | Columbus, OH USA | 1 | 0 |
| 45 | Eric Truvillion | WR | June 18, 1959 | 6'4" | 205 | Florida A&M | New York, NY USA | 3 | 3 |
| 72 | Jim Warne | T | November 27, 1964 | 6'7" | 315 | Arizona St. | Phoenix, AZ USA | 3 | 3 |
| 27 | Bobby Watkins | LCB | May 31, 1960 | 5'10" | 184 | Texas St. | Cottonwood, ID USA | 5 | 5 |
| 31 | Cleve Wester | RB | June 14, 1964 | 5'8" | 188 | Concordia (MN) | 3 | 1 | |
| 82 | Mark Wheeler | TE | June 15, 1964 | 6'2" | 232 | Kentucky | Indianapolis, IN USA | 3 | 0 |
| 38 | Scott Williams | RB | July 21, 1962 | 6'2" | 234 | Georgia | Charlotte, NC USA | 5 | 2 |
| 76 | Eric Williams | LDE | February 24, 1962 | 6'4" | 282 | Washington St. | Stockton, CA USA | 11 | 11 |
| 23 | Eric Williams | DB | February 21, 1960 | 6'1" | 188 | North Carolina St. | Raleigh, NC USA | 1 | 0 |
| 59 | Jimmy Williams | LOLB | November 15, 1960 | 6'3" | 228 | Nebraska | Washington, DC USA | 12 | 12 |
| 81 | Mark Witte | TE | December 3, 1959 | 6'3" | 236 | North Texas | Corpus Christi, TX USA | 3 | 3 |
| 21 | Butch Woolfolk | RB | March 1, 1960 | 6'1" | 210 | Michigan | Milwaukee, WI USA | 12 | 0 |
