The Detroit Lions haven’t made any big splashes yet at the start of NFL free agency, but their NFC North rivals have been very busy.
In the first two days of the NFL’s free agency negotiating period, the Bears, Vikings and even the Packers have made a flurry of moves, many of which involve former NFC North players going to different teams:
Recommended Videos
- Kirk Cousins left the Vikings for the Falcons.
- The Bears signed former Lions running back D’Andre Swift.
- The Packers released running back Aaron Jones and signed Josh Jacobs.
- The Vikings then picked up Aaron Jones.
- The Vikings also signed the top edge rusher on the market, Jonathan Greenard, and one of the top linebackers on the market, Andrew Van Ginkel.
The Lions, in addition to re-signing guard Graham Glasgow, signed former Vikings defensive end Marcus Davenport, who only played four games last season. It’s a one-year deal.
They also traded a third-round pick to the Bucs for cornerback Carlton Davis. Last season, Davis started in 12 games for the playoff-bound Buccaneers as he totaled 52 tackles with 40 solos, 12 assisted tackles, nine pass deflections, and two interceptions. He is owed $14 million this season, but the Lions will probably re-work the deal to lower the cap hit.
The biggest needs entering the offseason for the Lions were the secondary and the pass rush.
So what’s next for the Lions?
We know Lions GM Brad Holmes is a build-through-the-draft kind of guy. He’s not going to go crazy in free agency, because he can find way cheaper, younger talent in the draft.
But Homes typically does snag a few second-tier free agents as the offseason goes on. He has been known to sign some veterans to one-year deals, like D.J. Chark Jr., or C.J. Gardner-Johnson.
I also wouldn’t count the Lions out of making a trade -- they’ve been tied to Chiefs cornerback L’Jarius Sneed. They could also make a call on Bengals wide receiver Tee Higgins, who requested a trade on Monday. Those would be big moves, and would probably take some draft capital to land. There could be more under-the-radar guys they’re looking at for trades.
There are some guys out there the Lions could be eyeing:
- Danielle Hunter: If the Lions are going to spend on a big player, it’ll probably be Hunter. The former Viking is the best pass rusher on the market -- he had 16.5 sacks last year. He’s 29, and probably looking for a big contract, so it would be pricy.
- Jadeveon Clowney: This could be the veteran one-year deal we see Holmes hand out to someone every year. Clowney is a vet, but still had almost 10 sacks last season for the Ravens. It sounds like Baltimore is interested in bringing him back.
- Josh Uche: The former Wolverines linebacker should be available, with the Patriots letting him test the market. Uche, 25, played in 15 games last season, and could help add some depth to the linebacker room.
The Lions also have some in-house free agents they might want to bring back, like wide receivers Josh Reynolds and Donovan Peoples-Jones, edge rusher Julian Okwara, corner Kindle Vildor and linebacker Anthony Pittman.
They’re also expected to extend new deals to quarterback Jared Goff and wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown.