Lions Sign QB Gus Frerotte

Less than a month after being waived by the Washington Redskins, former Pro Bowl quarterback Gus Frerotte has signed with the Detroit Lions. Terms were not disclosed.

The Lions plan to waive veteran quarterback Scott Mitchell after June 1 for salary cap purposes, clearing the way for Frerotte to serve as the backup to Charlie Batch.

"We're delighted to have Gus Frerotte in the program," Lions coach Bobby Ross said. "As we approached the offseason, one of our priorities was to sign a backup quarterback who has started and won in the NFL. Not only does Gus satisfy those two conditions, but he has been to a Pro Bowl as recently as 1997. We think he will blend nicely into our system as Charlie Batch's backup."

Frerotte, 27, played the first five years of his career with the Redskins, but lost his starting job to Trent Green in 1998 and was waived by the team February 12 after being exposed in the expansion draft.

Selected in the seventh round of the 1994 draft, Frerotte outplayed highly touted Heath Shuler and started 11 games in 1995. Frerotte was named to the Pro Bowl in 1996 when he passed for 3,453 yards and led the Redskins to a 9-7 record.

In 1997, Frerotte threw a career-high 17 touchdown passes and led the Redskins to a 8-7-1 record, but his stock quickly fell and he was benched twice last season.

For his career, Frerotte has completed 744-of-1,422 passes for 9,769 yards with 48 touchdowns and 44 interceptions. He played in just three games in 1998, completing 25-of-54 passes for 283 yards and a touchdown with three interceptions.

The 31-year-old Mitchell was signed to a four-year, $22 million two years ago, but was relegated to third-string status after just two games last season.

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