Titus Young is unselfish but doesn't want to play unless he gets ball

Titus Young is an explosive wide receiver -- when he wants to be. (Getty Images)

General manager Martin Mayhew said in the days leading up to the 2012 NFL Draft that off-field baggage wouldn't prevent the Lions from taking good players. This would go a long way toward explaining how wide receiver Titus Young ended up in Detroit the year before.

The former Boise State star was taken in the second round of the 2011 NFL Draft, and his tenure with the Lions can best be described as tenuous. In simple terms, Young is a big-play threat who can't seem to get out of his own way.

He was deactivated for the Lions' Week 12 Thanksgiving Day game because, as the Detroit Free-Press' Dave Birkett wrote at the time, Young "purposely lined up in the wrong spot on the field multiple times (in the Week 11 matchup with the Packers) and mouthed off to receivers coach Shawn Jefferson on the sideline before being removed for the game's final series."

This development prompted center Dominic Raiola to observe days later: "We've moved on from him. He wants to be an a--hole, let him be an a--hole. It's not my problem."

Ultimately, Young was placed on injured reserve.

On Tuesday, the wideout took to Twitter to defend himself (the timing is a bit odd -- it's been nearly eight months since this all started -- but maybe he forgot to show up):

Like I said I never been selfish but if I'm not going to get the football i don't want to play anymore

— Titus D Young Sr (@TitusDYoungSr) January 22, 2013

Never have I ran the wrong route, just put my self where the ball was going

— Titus D Young Sr (@TitusDYoungSr) January 22, 2013

Just so we're clear: Young is not selfish … but if you don't give him the ball, he ain't playing.

This will almost certainly find its way into coach Jim Schwartz's next stand-up bit.

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