Should The Detroit Lions “Tank” The Rest Of Their Season?

Oct 25, 2015; Detroit, MI, USA; Detroit Lions defensive tackle Haloti Ngata (92) looks up during the third quarter against the Minnesota Vikings at Ford Field. Vikings win 28-19. Mandatory Credit: Raj Mehta-USA TODAY Sports

Evaluating The Current Roster

The Lions have several players whose contracts expire after the season (25). Many of those players are playing out one-year contracts. However, there are some key contributors who will be free agents at the end of the season. Among those players are (Haloti Ngata, Jason Jones, Manny Ramirez, James Ihedigbo, Tahir Whitehead, Travis Lewis, Isa Abdul-Quddus, Lance Moore, and Corey Fuller).

They also have several players who are due big salaries in 2016, but could be cut at a much cheaper rate. Among them Stephen Tulloch and Joique Bell.

This off-season, the team will also have to make decisions on whether to offer extensions to players who are due to be free agents in 2017. Those include Ziggy Ansah, Darius Slay, Larry Warford, Riley Reiff, and Theo Riddick.

In a nutshell, if you want to salvage any part of your future plans, “tanking” should not even be considered. Sitting players or having them play at half strength does not benefit anyone.

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