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DETROIT – Although Gosder Cherilus has already signed with his team, the Detroit Lions’ first round draft pick failed to report to the team’s training camp on its opening day. Cherilus, who was expected to arrive last Monday to Lions training camp in Allen Park, showed up instead to Detroit Zoo’s lion-training camp in what team officials are calling “a simple misunderstanding.”

“We expect Gosder to be here tomorrow to begin working on assimilating into an NFL offense,” said offensive coordinator Jim Colletto, who admitted there could be a bright side to the ordeal. “However, it’s entirely possible today’s mix-up will help his footwork and speed getting to the outside to close on fast rushers.”

Detroit Zoo has held a lion-training camp for the past seven years, scheduling it each year to correspond with the start of the Detroit Lions’ camp for promotional reasons. Signs along I-696, which Cherilus erroneously believed to be affiliated with his team, advertised the wildlife taming experience to motorists.

“We were happy to have Mr. Cherilus here today,” said the camp’s coordinator Rex Harris. “It’s always been our wish to have a Lions player here to promote the camp, but they are usually busy with their own camp.”

While most in the Lions organization dismissed Cherilus’ blunder as an honest mistake, some fans and reporters in Detroit are worried this could be the beginning of a series of problems. Cherilus was criticized for off-field trouble while playing at Boston College, and Detroit media is speculating as to whether the Lions made a wise choice with the 17^th overall pick.

“I hope this is not a sign of a pattern of behavior,” said Nicholas Cotsonika, Detroit Free Press sportswriter. “We’ll see if he shows up to a Florida Panthers hockey game in Miami when the Lions head to North Carolina in week 11.

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