| 18 March 2010
The Lions have continued their wheeling and dealing this past week. They lost a MLB in free agency, gained a backup QB via trade, and are still looking for offensive line depth. So this week's questions from Roar of the Lions' DetFan79 reflect the Lions' latest moves, and what may be coming up as the draft moves closer and closer.
1. With the loss of MLB Larry Foote to Pittsburgh, which diminishes the versatility of DeAndre Levy since he will likely be called upon to fill the role as starter in the middle, do the Lions need to address their LB personnel? Are Ernie Sims or Julian Peterson still tradeable?
With Foote having kissed off the Lions and their fans with his "Thank God I didn't sign a longer deal there" comment and turning tail for Pittsburgh, I can't see the Lions trading either Sims or Peterson. Levy was the Lions' insurance on the outside, so what quality depth they had is gone. More importantly, with it being an uncapped year, the Lions can afford to keep the highly paid Sims and Peterson on the roster.
There have been reports about the Lions possibly using special teams kamikaze Zach Follett more at linebacker (as he was starting to see limited action towards the end of the '09 season), and a possible wild card could be Army's Caleb Campbell, who has bulked up to LB size during his two years of active duty.
But anything the Lions get from them away from special teams is gravy.
So yes, the Lions do need address the linebacker position. But I think it'll be in the draft, sometime in the 2nd day...just as they found Levy in the 3rd round in '09.
2. The Lions have Chester Pitts visiting, and Ryan Lilja remains on the market as well. Would you like to see the Lions add yet another veteran stop-gap to help fill out their offensive line, or would you like to see them utilize one of their high draft picks on upgrading the offensive line?
If the Lions don't take Russell Okung or Trent Williams 2nd overall (and from most accounts, despite what some mock drafts say, they won't. The Lions are a locked in on Suh or McCoy), I don't see the Lions taking an offensive lineman the first two days of the draft. Of course, with Martin Mayhew's "Take the best player on the board, period" philosophy, they could surprise me.
But the team's needs are too great at other positions, specifically running back, cornerback, wide receiver, linebacker and the defensive line, for the offensive line to take priority. Though you could argue offensive guard is a need, but the Lions are not going to take a guard high in the draft. They just aren't worth that kind of money.
So the most logical scenario has the Lions looking for line depth via free agency, especially in an uncapped year.
3. The Lions brought in Shaun Hill via trade from the 49ers to fill the role of veteran backup. Is there still need at the backup QB position? What are your thoughts on the deal? (Detroit gave up a 2011 7th rounder)
As I said on both TWFE and The Knee Jerks podcast when the deal went down, I really, really like the Shaun Hill trade.
Hill will fit in nicely as Matthew Stafford's backup. He has experience as a starter with the Niners, and had some success, actually winning games (10-6 as a starter in SF). Hill is experienced, already knows Scott Linehan's offense and what he expects from his QB.
Without question, Hill is a vast upgrade over the gone for good, over the hill Culpepper and the perpetually stuck as 3rd string Drew Stanton. Honestly, the odds are good Hill will see time on the field, considering Stafford's physical playing style can lead to injury (as we saw twice in 2009).
To acquire a solid NFL backup QB for a 7th round draft pick is a steal of a trade. It's another feather in the cap of GM Martin Mayhew.
As for another backup QB, it may be in the cards. If the Lions thought Stanton was anything more than a highly paid baseball cap wearing clipboard holder, they wouldn't have made the trade for Hill. My best guess is the Lions are on the lookout for a QB later in the draft, as the free agent crop is less than inspiring. (Thus the trade for a qualified backup) If the draft doesn't bear QB fruit, and worse comes to worse, the Lions will ride out the Drew Stanton Experience for one more season as the emergency QB.
For the rest of the Lions blogosphere's answers to these latest head scratchers, head over to Roar of the Lions every Friday!
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