Detroit Lions will miss the late Charlie Sanders

When Charlie Sanders was drafted in the third round of the 1968 NFL Draft, he became a Detroit Lion for life.

After racking up nearly 5,000 receiving yards and appearing in seven Pro Bowls through 10 seasons as a Lions tight end, Sanders spent five years as a color commentator for Lions radio broadcasts. After that, he spent seven seasons as the Lions wide receivers coach. From there, Sanders joined the Lions front office as a scout and was later promoted to assistant director of pro personnel.

Sanders, who passed away earlier this month, was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2007. Few Lions have had an impact on the organization quite like Sanders, and that much you can tell just by the reverence with which team president Tom Lewand spoke about him.

"His laugh, his sartorial splendor, his guffaw through the hallways, and obviously his wisdom, too," team president Tom Lewand told Justin Rogers of MLive.com. "All those things, we've already started to miss. That void will be larger knowing he won't be back in the building, physically. But we know he'll certainly be there in spirit."

Former Detroit mayor and Pistons player Dave Bing, who was also a friend of Sanders, touched on the longtime Lion's work away from the game and how badly he'll be missed in the community.

"He didn't want to be remembered for just being a football player," Bing said, via MLive.com. "He did a lot of things with kids, with people who were underprivileged. He did it quietly, behind the scenes, because that was important to him. He was a critical part of our community here and he will definitely be missed."

(h/t MLive.com)

Photo Credit: Mark Cunningham/Getty Images