On Monday, the Detroit Lions released second-year wide receiver Titus Young. That sound you heard shortly after was the entire Lions fan-base breathing a sigh of relief.

For the majority of his tenure in the Motor City, Young offered little in the way of positivity. He was a cancer in the locker room, he was largely unproductive on the field, and he showed little effort to rein in his bad behavior and piss poor attitude.

Really, it was only a matter of time before the Lions’ front office did what they had likely been threatening for quite some time — and that was let him go.

Even in his rookie season, Young’s behavior foreshadowed his eventual demise. He was a nuisance on the field — showing a lack of discipline so infuriating even the Oakland Raiders would blush. And then last summer, Young was sent home after punching safety Louis Delmas during voluntary workouts.

As his production on the field dropped, it seems his desire to be a loyal teammate did, too.

Young was sent home a second time after he purposefully lined up incorrectly in the Nov. 18 game against the Green Bay Packers. And his fight with wide receiver coach Shawn Jefferson was just icing on an already bitter cake.

Young remained silent during the final weeks of the regular season until eventually unloading an obnoxious amount of venom on his Twitter page in late January. These tweets, which spanned several days, not only identified him as the selfish, immature person we already suspected he was, but also called for a release from the Lions.

And if that’s not enough, Young apparently admitted to his high school coach recently that he believes he is, in fact, a better wide receiver than Calvin Johnson.

Oh.

No.

Just no.

The release of Young was relieving. The fact that he was picked up not even 24 hours later by the St. Louis Rams would be surprising if it weren’t for the fact that Titus Young, however troubled he may be, has the potential to be a hell of a good football player. Not Calvin Johnson good. No, no. That requires discipline, selflessness, and human decency. But good enough to make a name for himself in the National Football League. And not because of mindless Twitter rants and in-house fighting. Because he actually is talented.

I’m not sad to see Young go. I’m sad most of the Lions 2011 draft class is a bust. I’m sad that we got nothing for him in return. And I’m sad that a talented, young wide receiver may never experience his full potential because he’s too busy talking a big game than actually playing one.

Good luck, St. Louis. He’s your project now. And Young, if you’re listening, grow up.

You can find me on Twitter @MelissaHeyboer and on Facebook at facebook.com/barrysandersmemorialblog.