Shahid Paulhill Suing Lions: Latest Details, Comments and Reaction

Shahid Paulhill, a defensive tackle who took part in the NFL's super regional combine tryout at Ford Field in 2014, is suing the Detroit Lions. 

Per Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press, Paulhill said he was "injured when a piece of falling metal hit him in the head" during the tryout two years ago and is suing the Lions and Downtown Detroit Building Authority for "more than $25,000."

Paulhill said in his lawsuit filed Tuesday that it was "a section of tubular metal approximately two feet in length" that fell from the stadium. His attorney, Mike Norman, added in Birkett's report that the legal team is still trying to determine exactly what the item was that injured Paulhill. 

Rod Ardoin, Paulhill's agent, told Birkett that "a pipe fell from the field and actually, in the stadium, and actually hit Shahid in the head." He added that Paulhill suffered "a substantial concussion" and the doctors at Ford Field that day did not let him run during the combine. 

Per Birkett's report, Lions spokesman Bill Keenist and NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy did not offer a comment on the lawsuit.    

Paulhill played college football at Temple from 2010-13. After finishing his college tenure, he did not get an invite to the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis. The defensive lineman was one of more than 3,000 hopefuls looking to extend their playing careers by taking part in regional tryouts in February, March and April 2014. 

Ardoin told Birkett that Paulhill needed this workout because of questions about his skills coming out of a nontraditional football school:

"

I think teams would have seen him. I think a lot of questions would have been answered, as far as him coming out of Temple and them saying, "Well, we just don’t know how fast he is. We just don’t know how fast and nimble he is." I think some questions would have been answered. Whether a team would have just taken a shot on him or not, I really, in my heart of hearts, I want to say yes.

"

Birkett noted the 2014 regional combines produced some NFL talent, including Pittsburgh Steelers offensive tackle Alejandro Villanueva, who appeared in all 16 games last season. 

Now 25 years old, Paulhill has been unable to catch on with an NFL team. He did participate in the league's inaugural veteran combine last March in Arizona.