Detroit Lions the Favorite in the Nnamdi Asomugha Sweepstakes?

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It has been a while since Lions fans could realistically look at the top free agents and believe those players might end up in Honolulu blue and silver. Change is in the air that fills Ford Field and the Lions are becoming relevant enough that Nnamdi Asomugha‘s name keeps coming up when the team’s free agency plans are debated. It isn’t surprising that the Lions would be interested in a top free agent at a position of need but it takes two to tango and Asomugha’s interests haven’t been fully revealed.

One website is ready to take the speculation to the next level. NFL Draft City goes so far as to say the Lions are “likely” to sign Nnamdi Asomugha. Here is the most meaty excerpt of their report:

"It is believed Nnamdi would like to join a perennial playoff team like the Packers or Eagles, and many seem to put the Lions in the same group as the star cornerback’s former team, another recent bottom feeder, Oakland Raiders. While many agree with that sentiment, others believe it won’t be long before the Lions return to respectability and may even reach the postseason as early as this upcoming season. NFLDraftCity.com’s Chris Habbo is reporting, according to sources close to Asomugha, he agrees with the latter opinion and would be interested in joining the Lions if the interest is mutual and both sides can come to term on a contract.When presented to a member of the Detroit Lions staff the level of interest from the individual close to Asomugha, a Lions’ representative conveyed, “We still have obvious holes in our defense, specifically the secondary and if there is a player out there that we think can help us in some of those areas, we’re going to do everything in our power to make that player a part of this team.” The Lions representative declined to comment directly on Nnamdi Asomugha, but made it clear, “We’re not going to hold back if a player is there and can help this team and we feel the situation is right, the player is right and if those details are established, money won’t be an issue.”"

It is hard to not get excited after reading something like that. Unfortunately, it is also hard to know whether or not to put any stock in to this report. Just a few minutes with the Google machine leaves me without a reason to believe NFL Draft City has any inside track on sources from the team or anyone close to Nnamdi Asomugha. I’m not saying a smaller outlet can’t come up with a scoop, I’m just saying that I don’t see any compelling reason to believe this one.

Beyond the excerpt posted above, NFL Draft City goes on to mention two possible alternatives should Asomugha and the Lions fail to reach an agreeable price: Johnathan Joseph and Antonio Cromartie. The only problem is that NFL Draft City didn’t spell Johnathan correctly. A missed detail like that and we’re supposed to believe an article that would be the most definitive link between Asomugha and the Lions to date? For now, I’ll chalk this up in the “I want to believe but can’t” column.

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