Signing with Detroit Lions a 'no-brainer' for ex-Wildcat Roy Lopez

Life is moving fast for Roy Lopez Jr.

The former Arizona Wildcats defensive tackle signed a one-year, $4.65 million deal with the Detroit Lions on Friday, after a two-year stint with the hometown Cardinals.

During his introductory press conference, Lopez said he hasn’t had the chance to meet with players and coaches, but is using this week “and the next coming weeks to reach out to my teammates and get the ball rolling.”

“Right now, I’m still trying to unpack my chonies,” Lopez joked.

Lopez is entering his fifth season in the NFL after his lone season at Arizona during the pandemic-influenced season in 2020. Lopez started his college career at New Mexico State and helped the Aggies win the Arizona Bowl in Tucson for the program’s first bowl victory in 56 years.

Lopez’s father, Roy Lopez Sr., is a longtime high school football coach in Arizona who is currently the head coach at Phoenix Desert Ridge. He also previously coached at Tempe Marcos de Niza and Sunnyside.

Following his one season at Arizona, the younger Lopez was drafted by the Houston Texans in the sixth round of the NFL Draft.

In 63 games over four seasons, Lopez has recorded 137 tackles, three sacks, a forced fumble and two fumble recoveries.

“If you had 90 Roys you’d be good to go,” Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon said after Lopez’s signing. “We’ve got a lot of good guys. But Roy, he keeps a good attitude. He’s always working on his game. He’s team-first. He’s willing to do whatever you tell him to do. He’s got a smile on his face. He’s a phenomenal human being. He enjoys coming to work and he gets better at his game. So yeah, I’d love a bunch of Roys.”

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The 27-year-old Lopez now bolsters Detroit’s depth on the defensive line as an interior player. Detroit, which had the fifth-best rushing defense in the NFL last season, has made the playoffs in the last two seasons under head coach Dan Campbell. Lopez will join a defensive tackle rotation that returns starters in D.J. Reader and Alim McNeill, who is recovering from an ACL injury.

“I think the biggest thing is to join a room that on tape when you watch them, you know they play with their hair on fire,” Lopez told reporters on Friday. “They have the juice and the energy. As a defensive lineman, to join a room like that, it’s a no-brainer.”

Lopez’s one-year contract with the Lions is worth more than his career earnings ($3.7 million). The Phoenix-area native attributed his success on the football field to his upbringing as a wrestler. The Gilbert Mesquite High School product was a two-time state champion and had a 113-3 record over four years.

Lopez remembers the losses more than the wins. The wrestlers who bested Lopez, he can “can tell you their names, height, weight, social security number,” he said.

“I hated to lose more than I loved winning,” Lopez said.

Added Lopez: “A lot of people say when they watch my (football) tape, it looks like wrestling. ... When you watch my film, my favorite move is a bull shuck and it’s the same movement as wrestling. So it’s kind of full circle. I laugh at it. I think it’s funny.”

Lopez’s first impression of Detroit is the size of his new head coach.

“I’ll tell you from up close, I didn’t know he was that big,” Lopez said of Campbell, who is a 6-5, 265-pound former NFL tight end. “I made a joke, I was like, ‘I knew he played, (but) I didn’t know he could still play.’ Amazing.”

Campbell and the culture he has instilled over four years in Detroit was a “huge part” in Lopez signing with the Lions.

“You see it from afar,” Lopez said. “That’s what I mean by the whole country, the whole NFL knows about the Detroit Lions and that’s because of the city, that’s because of Coach Campbell. It’s because of the culture they built here.

“They believe in each other. They believe in what they’re building and on the outside looking in and as a competitor, as someone that loves ball, it’s intriguing.”