The Detroit Lions made headlines with their release of safety Glover Quin. However, it appears this has been in the works since last offseason.

The Lions made some significant changes prior to the 2018 NFL season with the arrival of new head coach Matt Patricia. According to Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press, Quin knew the writing was on the wall for his looming departure:

“I actually tried to get out of my contract going into the season,” Quin said in an episode of The Pride Podcast. “Cause I just, like I said, I knew it was going to get to this point. I could see it. I knew it was going to happen. I understand the business of football and I knew we were going to get to this point so I was just trying to stop it before it even got started.”

This is certainly an interesting tidbit from Quin. The Lions were ready to usher in a new era under Patricia last offseason. Quin felt that he and the franchise were headed in different directions at that point and was ready to move on.

Although qin is entering the final stretch of his career, he was still a model of consistency in Detroit. He started all 96 games in six seasons with Lions and even led the league in interceptions in 2014 en route his the Pro Bowl. He will be looking to continue his streak of 148 consecutive starts elsewhere next season.

Quin made it clear that he would like to return to his hometown and play for the Houston Texans. It will be interesting to see if they oblige his request this offseason.