 |
| Hope you weren't tired of the Lions signing former Patriots. [Mark Zaleski/AP] |
Despite everything around us being on fire, the National Football League have still gone one with the offseason like nothing has happened. It's a welcome distraction, if not bizarre. The league is still adamant that it is having the draft later this month, and plans to start the season in September even if OTAs and training camps are shortened/outright canceled.
That doesn't seem like the best idea. Even if things are fine by mid-May and OTAs are allowed to go on as scheduled, many players are still likely going to be a bit less conditioned than usual, particularly those who might not have the access to top-notch training centers during lockdown.
I don't know how well that will hold up if social distancing guidelines (many states being under Shelter In Place orders) continue, but it's been nice to at least think that sports might happen again eventually. The Lions made some signings, and I have some thoughts. Let's chat!
Offensive Signings
As predicted, the Lions let go of Graham Glasgow, who would go on to become one of the better-paid guards in the league. It's well-deserved. Glasgow was never selected as an All-Pro or for a Pro Bowl, but he's been rock solid for several seasons at all three inside spots on the line. He will be sorely missed. The Lions have re-signed Oday Aboushi. Aboushi might be a reliable backup at this point, but he's a concern as a starter. Once you start thinking about depth, things get really scary. Even if you're comfortable with Joe Dahl and Oday Aboushi starting (I'm not), who's the next guard up if either guy goes down? Beau Benzschawel? Joshua Garnett? Scary.
The team also released starting tackle Rick Wagner on March 13. Wagner never lived up to his hefty contract when he signed with Detroit. He was probably in the bottom half of starting tackles last season, but releasing a guy like that is still a bit of a gamble. When free agency started the team signed Halapoulivaati Vaitai to a five-year deal. I like Vaitai's potential, but he's still only started four games in the past two seasons. Bob Quinn has invested a lot of resources into Detroit's offensive line, and there are way more question marks than I'd like with that group right now.
The Lions still don't have a starting-caliber wide receiver signed through 2020. I fully expect them to give Kenny Golladay an extension (re-signing Marvin Jones to an extension is probably too pricey unfortunately), but after Golladay the future Lions have some interesting choices to make, most likely in a draft that is deep at receiver. In the meantime, they re-signed Danny Amendola to another one-year deal, and also signed veteran receiver Geronimo Allison from Green Bay. I do not expect Allison to make the roster. He was abysmal for a depleted Packers receiver group. His potential role in Detroit would be different. He'd be the Lions' WR4 at best. His experience could make him one of the last guys on the roster, but I'd like those kinds of spots filled by rookie receivers with more upside.
Backup quarterback Jeff Driskel walked in free agency, and the Lions picked up Chase Daniel. It must have broken Chicago's heart to lose their best quarterback this offseason.
That's where the Lions stand on offense. They still have a massive need at guard. Even if they're waiting for the draft to get one of the top interior linemen, I'd still like them to get at least one more depth signing. They need another running back and wide receiver, but those will likely be mid-round draft picks. There's also a lesser need for a third tight end on the roster.
Defensive Signings
The headline here is that the Lions traded Pro Bowl corner Darius Slay to the Eagles for third- and fifth-round picks. This was probably the best they could do. I would've liked to see at least a second-rounder for a player of Slay's ability, but the Lions were desperate in trying to unload him, and teams likely knew that.
Slay's departure from the Lions was not on amicable terms. He blasted Matt Patricia hours after the trade. Reports aren't necessarily kind to Slay in this case (he didn't take disrespect well from Patricia, and then reportedly stopped paying attention in team meetings and started badmouthing the coaches in the locker room). I still mostly put things on Patricia, because there's a pattern here. He seems to have completely alienated multiple good players who were locker room leaders: Golden Tate, Quandre Diggs, Darius Slay at the least, and probably more than them.
The thing that gets me is that Matt Patricia was brought in as a coach that was supposed to build off of what Jim Caldwell did as a head coach. It wasn't supposed to be a rebuild. Nine wins for Caldwell weren't "good enough." You can get away with "The coach just needs to establish his culture and get his guys" more when you're doing a complete rebuild of a team. If the Lions were a team that just needed a better coach to take that next step, that coach has to be able to get the existing locker room behind him to take that next step. By seemingly all accounts, Patricia did the absolute opposite, getting those locker room leaders, Pro Bowl players, to check out instead of buying in. Patricia got better with players in his second year even by Slay's admission, but the damage might be done already. That's an issue, and it could likely cost Patricia and Quinn their jobs in a few months.
But the damage is done. Slay is gone, and the Lions now have to do something at cornerback. The team signed former Atlanta Falcon Desmond Trufant to a two-year deal to fill Slay's role. Trufant's still a solid player, but his best days are probably behind him. He's most likely a downgrade from Slay even if he has a solid year. The Lions still need somebody behind him. Amani Oruwariye is the current CB2, but he might not quite be ready to be a starter and there's a lack of depth behind him. Drafting Jeff Okudah with the third pick in the draft is probably the answer, but I wouldn't mind another corner pickup in the offseason.
Meanwhile, the defensive line is looking a bit different. Snacks Harrison was cut in February, and A'Shawn Robinson went to the Rams as a free agent. The Lions have picked up Danny Shelton and Nick Williams to replace them, but the position still seems a bit light. I would really like them to pick up at least another tackle in free agency if they can. Then I fully expect one of the team's first draft picks to be a defensive lineman. This team really needs all the help it can get.
The Lions have made a surprising amount of moves at the linebacker position. Jamie Collins is probably the biggest signing the Lions have made so far. The former Patriot is obviously very familiar with Matt Patricia as a coordinator, so hopefully we get Patriots Collins instead of Browns Collins. He provides a lot of versatility at linebacker if the team is able to get the best version of him.
Detroit also picked up Reggie Ragland (who a lot of people wanted the Lions to draft in 2016) and Elijah Lee. Ragland in particular feels like a perfect fit for Patricia as a big thumping linebacker. He hasn't quite lived up to being a second-round pick in his career so far, but this might be a perfect situation for him. He could push for playing time immediately.
The Lions also acquired safety Duron Harmon and a seventh-round pick for a fifth-round pick. This might sneakily be the best move the Lions have made in free agency. He came for relatively cheaply, and the Lions got a good player who should pair up nicely with Tracy Walker while also allowing Will Harris to develop a bit more while backing up a veteran safety. I like it a lot.
Former Viking Jayron Kearse and former Bengal Tony McRae have also signed with the Lions. They're probably most expected to play special teams/depth roles if they make the team at all, and Kearse has to serve a suspension for a DUI before he can play again. I have very few thoughts on them.
Speaking of special teams, punter Sam Martin is now a Denver Bronco, so the Lions are in search of a new punter. They could use Jack Fox and Matt Wile who are currently signed to the roster, but I'd be shocked if the Lions didn't use one of their late-round picks on a punter. I wouldn't be mad at it, but a lot of people in Detroit probably would be.
Conclusion
As it stands, the Lions still have several big needs, and they probably can't fill them all in the draft. Right now, I'd probably rank them:
1. Guard (starter and depth)
2. Cornerback (starter and depth)
3. Defensive Tackle (multiple depth signings if not a starter)
4. Edge Rusher
5. Wide Receiver
The moves the Lions have made... I don't know how confident I am in them. They've seemed to improve the linebacker corps (which has been one of the worst in the league for a few years at least), but look significantly worse at cornerback and on the offensive line so far. Defensive tackle seems like a wash at best until they get more bodies. Safety might be improved, but that was the least-worrisome positional group on defense last season.
The later waves of NFL free agency are probably going more slowly because players can't meet and work out personally with teams, nor can players coming off injuries easily access doctors for physicals (and during this pandemic, they obviously shouldn't be priorities). So things might move like molasses for a lot of NFL teams until we're on the other end of this thing. Until then, I guess.
No comments:
Post a Comment