While Head Coach Jim Schwartz was in Nashville talking with defensive end 
Linehan had coached Burleson for two seasons in Minnesota before he moved on to be the offensive coordinator with the Miami Dolphins.
“When we were getting ready for the draft last year and free agency last year, Scott Linehan would come into my office and say, ‘We need a guy like Nate Burleson,’” said Schwartz.
“You’d talk about a guy, building profiles for our positions and so many times he’d say, ‘You know we really need a guy like Nate Burleson. Nate Burleson had this,’ and, ‘This is the way I used Nate Burleson.’”
Schwartz says that as they approached this year’s free agent signing period, he finally decided to stop looking for a player like Nate Burleson.
“It came to the point of saying, ‘Well, let’s not get a guy like Nate Burleson, let’s get Nate Burleson,’” said Schwartz.
As the organization’s personnel meetings regarding this year’s free agent class wound down, Schwartz went through Burleson’s 2009 season one more time.
“I looked at every snap that Nate played from the 2009 season again to make sure that we weren’t going to have buyer’s regret and to make sure we knew what we were getting into,” he said.
Schwartz liked what he saw and made the decision that Linehan should go out to Seattle to “make a pitch” for Burleson.
After talking it over with General Manager Martin Mayhew and Team President Tom Lewand, Linehan was scheduled to fly out in time to meet Burleson after 9:00 Pacific Time.
“I got a call a little after nine, just relaxing at the house,” said Burleson. “(I) got a call and Scott was in Seattle. I was like, ‘What’s going on? Is this really happening right now? Is this how people do things?’”
Those around the league are quickly learning that this is how Schwartz and his staff do things.
“(Linehan) said ‘Do you want to go to dinner, sit down and talk?’” said Burleson. “I called my dad and said, ‘I need you here.’ He’s probably my biggest fan, so we went to dinner, sat down and – to be honest – he didn’t need to sell me.
“It wasn’t that I walked away with a full stomach and I was convinced that I need to play for the Lions, it was more the effort of him coming to Seattle, showing that he really wanted to make a personal connection. Even though I know Scott, him coming out and actually looking me in my eyes and being in Seattle spoke volumes and for that reason I was very appreciative.”
Burleson became a Detroit Lion and is looking forward to being a piece of the bigger puzzle.
“There are some good pieces here and my plan is just to fit in,” he said. “I don’t want to sit up here and act like I’m everything that Detroit is missing, but I know that I can come here and help. I’m 28, I love the sport, I love playing football, I’m very passionate and I’m going to do everything that I can to help the Lions be successful.
“I’m going to do everything to play ball the way they want me to play – outside, inside, punt return, kickoff return – whatever it is.”
One thing the Lions are looking forward to Burleson providing is an additional offensive weapon to open things up for Linehan.
Last year, wide receiver
“They were putting linebackers in front of him, cornerback over the top and a safety running over after the snap of the ball,” said Burleson of Moss.
“Two or three guys just about every play. Scott would preach to me, ‘You’ve got to get open. I know you’re young, I know you just got here, but you have to get open. Do you what you did in college and make plays.’ I think that’s what I want to plan to do here, just make plays.”
Burleson had his first encounter with Johnson last year when the Lions traveled to Seattle to take on the Seahawks, and it was a memorable one for the six-foot-tall receiver.
“I was going out for a punt return while the Lions were going off the field on third down and he was getting the ball off the ground after an incomplete pass and I was like, ‘Hey big man are you alright?’” said Burleson.
As Burleson recalled the encounter he started laughing.
“He stood up and he just kept going,” he said. “Before I knew it I went from the ground to looking up and I went to the sideline and talked to Deion Branch and I was like, ‘Man, have you stood next to that guy? He’s huge.’”
Johnson wasn’t the only draw for Burleson.
He had also heard a lot about Detroit’s starting quarterback.
“I talked to
“For a guy like me who likes to give the first down signal, do an end zone celebration when I score, I might scream after I make a big play -- I like to see passionate players. I noticed that when we played Detroit last year, he was that type of guy. He would get up and fist pump after a big play and I liked that.”
