Detroit Lions sign center Wesley Johnson: Starter or backup?
The Detroit Lions have added free agent center Wesley Johnson to their roster. Will the former New York Jets starter play the same role in the Motor City?
Last offseason, the Detroit Lions splashed big in free agency in order to shore up their offensive line. The Lions inked veterans in right guard T.J. Lang and right tackle Ricky Wagner to sizable contracts to help better protect quarterback Matthew Stafford while also igniting their stagnate rushing attack.
Unfortunately, things didn’t go as planned for the Motor City in 2017. This offensive line was hobbled due to injuries last season. Most notably 2016 first round pick and starting left tackle Taylor Decker missed eight games after suffering from a torn labrum in his right shoulder.
As a result, Stafford was sacked a whopping 47 times, the second most of any NFL quarterback last season. While Detroit’s running game was considered the worst in the entire league.
This offseason there are still many changes to be made to this ever-evolving offensive line in Detroit. First, the Lions are not expected to re-sign starting center Travis Swanson, who is currently a free agent. Instead, it’s believed Detroit is considering shifting left guard Graham Glasgow to center. This would leave reserve Joe Dahl to man the vacant guard position.
But the Lions weren’t considered to be done addressing either position yet, looking to both free agency and the upcoming draft to find themselves a possible new starter along their O-Line. On Thursday, they have gotten one step closer to finding that player.
The Lions have now inked free agent center Wesley Johnson to an undisclosed contract. Johnson is a former fifth round pick by the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2014 out of Vanderbilt. After spending his rookie season in Pittsburgh, the 27-year old has played the past four years with the New York Jets.
Johnson has started in 24 of his total 41 regular season game appearances, all of them for the Jets. And he started a career-high 15 contests for New York in 2017.
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Despite that fact, many do not believe Johnson is a viable starter for the Lions. He struggled much of last season in that role and figures to be a better backup in Detroit. Regardless, the versatile lineman should receive an opportunity to prove he can fill a starter role with the Lions, whether that be at guard or center. But it seems more likely that the Lions will look to the draft to fill that need.