Detroit Lions teammates call Nick Bawden a 'maniac.' Here's the evidence

Dave Birkett | Detroit Free Press

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Nick Bawden had a stream of blood on his nose and a wide-eyed look of satisfaction on his face.

It was the third quarter of the Detroit Lions' loss to the Green Bay Packers last month and he had just thrown his face into a block, crushing the top bar of the titanium face mask on his helmet.

"He came off the sideline, he was like, 'Look,' and he was like smiling," Ty Johnson recalled. "He had like a little bit of blood around his nose and everything."

Like Cory Schlesinger, his forefather at fullback from a generation ago, Bawden has a penchant for pulverizing face masks, which helps illustrate his willingness to do anything on the field.

The second-year pro crushed one in a pileup against the Packers, bent a second one earlier this season in practice and broke the chin strap off a third one in Green Bay.

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The used face masks sit in a cubby hole in his locker, a trophy case of sorts displaying his work.

"Just keeping them, see how many I can get, I guess," Bawden said Friday. " 'Cause when you’re hitting people with your face, you’re trying to do something right."

A seventh-round pick out of San Diego State last year who missed his entire rookie season with a torn ACL, Bawden has three catches and no carries in seven games this season, but also the ultimate appreciation from teammates for the dirty work he does.

"Lot of respect for that guy," running back J.D. McKissic said.

"That's a maniac right there," Johnson said. "Love him, though."

Johnson said Bawden embraces contact like few of his peers.

"In practice he’s telling linebackers to come down harder so he can hit them and everything," Johnson said. "Man, I be like, 'Bro, they’re your teammates. He be like, 'I don’t care, I need the look.' I’m like, 'Bro, come on now, we need you for Sunday, too.' "

"He just wants to do what he can do, even if it’s just doing an iso block right up the middle and thumping on a linebacker or whatever. He's a good player."

Bawden credits longtime Lions equipment manager Tim O'Neill for helping him help the team.

O'Neill sprung into action, replacing the face mask on the sideline after Bawden mangled the metal at Lambeau Field, and Bawden was back making blocks a few plays later.

Bawden chalked up his face mask destruction — they don't shatter, unlike the old plastic ones — to "just football."

He said he's well aware of the history of cage carnage in Detroit from Schlesinger's days playing at the Pontiac Silverdome years ago.

"Just trying to follow after No. 30," he said.

Contact Dave Birkett at dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @davebirkett. Read more on the Detroit Lions and sign up for our Lions newsletter.