During the Super Bowl, I’m certain that many Lions fans on Twitter will be salivating at some key playmakers for both teams that are headed to free agency. For most players, just playing in the big game is enough of a stock boost for them to get a great contract. And for a team like the Lions, who are in the market to fill plenty of holes, these options are definitely going to be on their radar. However, I don’t believe breaking the bank on a few big pieces is what will save this team. Instead, they need to follow the same blueprint they had last year and hunt for depth.
Big name players are great. But when you’re paying Porsche money for a Ford, it’s not. This is exactly what will happen if the Lions go out and get in a bidding war with other teams. Unfortunately, this might happen if they hope to keep Riley Reiff and/or Larry Warford around. It’s the main reason many believe that one of the two won’t be in Honaloulou blue next season. Every year teams throw big money at decent players and it rarely ever works out in their favor. The Lions did it last season with Marvin Jones, and the verdict on that signing is still up in the air. (I for one think they had to do it.)
So without another Calvin sized hole to fill, the Lions can focus on depth. This past season, their lacking depth was a major issue. Losing Quandre Diggs was a little scary. But then Darius Slay went down for a few weeks. And it became ugly. They scraped the bottom of the barrel to find somebody to at least try to play, but nobody stuck. When Eric Ebron was out, nobody matched his abilities. Even losing Josh Bynes, a player that shouldn’t be starting as is, killed the linebackers. These situations are a killer to any team. As many times the teams that end up in the Super Bowl tend to be the healthiest. Still, it’s the NFL and every team should know a handful of impactful guys will go down. And if you’re the next guy up, you better make the most of that opportunity.
And I believe that in year two, Bob Quinn is going to address these problems. Last offseason, Quinn went out and signed a good amount of depth at wide receiver and safety. Lo and behold, those two positions were the most consistent on the team. Even though neither had a big injury occur, when players subbed in the level of play remained the same. Heck, Marvin Jones actually missed a game this season and I have no idea what game it was off the top of my head. Yes, having the best players on the field is obviously nice, but not noticing when they are missing is the best.
This offseason is going to be an interesting one. I think Quinn learned from his mistakes and will be sure to plug any holes that were obvious after last year. So in free agency, when the most exciting player signed is somebody that was a fringe player elsewhere, don’t take that as a loss. Instead, think of him like Rafael Bush and Tavon Wilson of this season. Because when it comes to being new to the team, I’d rather have you come into your own with a cheap contract and in a Lions’ jersey.
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