The Detroit Lions are expected to allow at least four of their starters from 2018 test the free agent market when it opens next month.
The Detroit Lions are expected to make several changes to their roster this offseason. And that means being active players in free agency and using the draft to quickly address positions of need.
And while the focus during this week’s NFL Scouting Combine is on finding the right rookies to add to the roster in April’s draft, knowing which players to move on from is a focus as well. Next month, free agency kicks off. And the Lions figure to be moving on from several big names. The biggest possibly being defensive end Ezekiel Ansah.
The fifth-overall selection by the Lions in the 2013 NFL Draft, Ansah has had a few tough seasons in Detroit. Since posting his lone Pro Bowl season back in 2015, when he posted a whopping 14.5 sacks, the soon-to-be 30-year old has failed to replicate that success since.
Last season, the Lions used their franchise tag to retain Ansah for another season, at a cost of $17.1 million. Unfortunately, Ziggy played in only seven games due to a shoulder injury, recording only 4.0 sacks. But Ansah isn’t the only former starter that may have played their final game for Motown.
Here’s what Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press recently wrote about which of the Lions’ starters from last season the Lions could potentially allow to test free agency beyond Ansah.
"“Four other players who started at least eight games for the Lions last season are ticketed for unrestricted free agency — tight ends Levine Toilolo and Luke Willson, defensive lineman Ricky Jean-Francois and running back LeGarrette Blount — but all four are expected to hit the open market.”"
Both Blount and Willson failed to live up to expectations and seeing their names here is not a surprise. Toilolo started to emerge late last season as a reliable target for quarterback Matthew Stafford. While Jean-Francois was seen as a stabilizing force who was on the team in part to help those around him to better learn Matt Patricia’s defense.