Lions GM denies promising 1st-round selection to Vernon Butler

Detroit Lions general manager Bob Quinn vehemently denies that the team promised Vernon Butler they would select him 16th overall after they used their first-round pick on Ohio State offensive tackle Taylor Decker instead.

"No one from my staff, or the coaching staff, have ever promised a player that we were going to take them at any position," Quinn said via Justin Rogers of MLive.com.

Butler was eventually selected 30th overall by the Carolina Panthers. The defensive tackle was asked whether the Lions told him they'd select him if he was available, and he answered affirmatively.

"That’s what they said, but they say a lot of things," Butler said Thursday of the Lions to the Panthers' official website.

Quinn was hired as the Lions general manager in January and it was imperative for him to nail his first draft holding that title. It's clear that Quinn wants to put his stamp on the team and block out any untrue rumors that could alter the perception of him as an executive.