by Grand Rapid Press

"It's really the only way," said Raiola, a veteran center who signed a four-year contract extension Thursday.

The Lions finished their mandatory three-day minicamp Thursday and the players are now off until July 31 for the opening of training camp.

A second-round draft choice of the team in 2001, Raiola is part of a Lions franchise that went 31-97 in that span.

Raiola said he never considered leaving Detroit.

"I never wanted to leave here. There's so much I put into this it would be like quitting," Raiola said. "This place is worse now than when I came in and I definitely want to be part of it when this thing turns around.

"This is home for me. This is a great city, this city is special to me. I have a lot of friends here and I've seen pretty much every other sports franchise in the city win and there's nothing more than I want than for this city to see this team win."

Lions coach Jim Schwartz likes Raiola despite his small size for a center. He's officially listed at 296 pounds,.

"He's got great leverage and he has great balance. He's a good athlete and you don't need a giant to play center," said Lions head coach Jim Schwartz. "Center is one of the positions where you can get by with a smaller guy."

According to FoxSports.com, Raiola's deal includes $20 million in new money, including $9 million in guaranteed money. Earlier this season, the Lions signed right guard Stephen Peterman to a five-year, $15 million contract. With tackles Jeff Backus and Gosder Cherilus in the midst of long-term deals, the Lions could maintain some continuity on the offensive line.

"He's everything that's right about the NFL," Schwartz said of Raiola. "He's embraced the city he lives in, he lives here year-round and he's as hard a working guy as you're going to imagine. He loves the game, he's durable and he plays the game the way it's supposed to be played. We're proud to have him."

Receivers Derrick Williams (hamstring) and Bryant Johnson (sprained right ankle) didn't practice on Thursday but both will be ready for training camp.

Williams didn't participate in any of the minicamp workouts while Johnson suffered a mild sprain on Wednesday.

Also, the Lions signed seventh-round draft pick Dan Gronkowski to a three-year deal and also released receiver Chris Hannon.

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