Lions LB Justin Durant excited to return to Jacksonville

While the Jaguars allowed Justin Durant to leave the team in free agency and sign with the Lions for a two-year, $5.5 million deal, the linebacker says that there is no bad blood between him and the city. In fact, he told Dave Birkett of Detroit Free Press Sports that he's excited to go back and play in Jacksonville for the first time since joining the Lions:

"I'm kind of excited to go back and play," Durant said. "The city showed me a lot of love, so always a special place in my heart just from being there for four years, giving me a chance to play in this league. I'm grateful, and just get a chance to play against some of the guys that I came in with."

The second-round pick of the Jaguars in the 2007 NFL Draft, Durant racked up 228 tackles in four seasons with the Jaguars as well as two sacks and two interceptions. One thing he didn't do as a member of the Jaguars, though, was have a chance to tackle some of his own teammates in practice. That's something he's looking forward to doing on Sunday:

"Some of the guys I never really got an opportunity to hit," Durant said. "We couldn't really tackle in practice."

The list of guys that he couldn't hit during his time in Jacksonville and will get a chance to hit on Sunday is a slim one, though. With a new quarterback and entirely new wide receiving corps since he last wore a Jaguars uniform, the only former teammates Durant will likely get the chance to tackle are Marcedes Lewis and Rashad Jennings.