Detroit Lions: Is a heapin’ helpin’ of Hankins still possible?

Bare in mind that Hankins is a Dearborn Heights, Michigan native. He completely fits what the Lions will be doing defensively and he has a chance to recoup some of his financial losses from this season with an outstanding year next season.

Now make no mistake that it isn’t a slam dunk that Detroit is the destination he has to agree to. The Washington Redskins were also very high on him and had a very good defense last season. That could be a good situation where he could sign, play well and look even better because of the players surrounding him.

It’s simply a matter of the Lions being persuasive and Hankins wanting to give the discount to the home town team.

There are at least three players that signed with the Lions because of talking to Matt Patricia and/or the combination of his reputation as a defensive guru. Linebacker Devon Kennard, nose-tackle Sylvester Williams and former Patriot running back LeGarrette Blount.

This would be the ultimate sales job. Sell Hankins on the chance to sign a one year ‘prove-it’ contract after which he can hit the open market again and cash in on a big season if he’s able to have one.

Bob Quinn could try to get creative and offer an escalating contract that would jump up in any subsequent years on the deal allowing him to earn what he believes he’s worth, but that seems unlikely since free agency always allows an opportunity to see how high his price tag can go.

At this point there doesn’t seem to be a favorite to land Hankins, but with finances being what they are around the league, it certainly makes every bit of sense for the Lions to reach out to Hankins and see what they can do.

Who know? Maybe the allure of coming home will be enough for him to choose Detroit over a comparable offer elsewhere. Nothing ventured nothing gained.

The flip side of a one year contract would be if Hankins proves to be a hometown flop, the Lions can let him walk after the season without it costing them an arm and a leg.

Next: Detroit Lions 2018 NFL Draft: 4-Round Mock 2.0

The draft is only two weeks away and the Lions will explore every option they can to find players to make them better, but it wouldn’t hurt if they were able to fill one more big need with one final push in free agency for a talented player that no one else can afford either.