Loyal, grateful and patient Hassanein soaking in being back with Lions after rejecting interest from other teams
Allen Park — What’s an 11-week wait when you’re ready to die for something?
From the moment he was drafted by the Detroit Lions last April, Ahmed Hassanein’s loyalty to the franchise was unbreakable. Overcome with emotion immediately after his selection, he pledged a willingness to die on the field for coach Dan Campbell.
So when Hassanein suffered a grade 2 pectoral tear during the preseason, the Lions leveraged Hassanein’s loyalty, convincing him that the best path to maximize his development was to let him go, with a promise to bring him back once he healed.
The Lions waived Hassanein with a seven-week injury settlement in late August. As soon as that transaction was complete, he was free to sign with any of the league’s other teams. And according to Hassanein, via his agent, all 31 inquired. And why not? As a qualifying international player, he could be rostered on a practice squad without counting against the unit’s 16-man limit.
But Hassanein was never going anywhere else. The Lions believed in him, therefore, he believed in them. He told his agent to reject any outside interest.
“I was like, ‘I’m not going anywhere. I’m staying here,’” Hassanein said.