Detroit Lions: 3 free agent interior defenders to consider signing

Javon Hargrave

2019 team/Salary: Pittsburgh Steelers / $2.025 million

2019 stats: 16 games played, 13 starts, 4.0 sacks, 1 forced fumble, 60 total tackles, 7 tackles for loss

Age: 26

Height/Weight: 6-2 / 305

Hargrave has steadily become an important part of the Pittsburgh Steelers’ front seven, playing as an undersized nose tackle for the majority of that time. It’s a role he could also fill with the Lions, though his physical profile would find him better suited to split his time between that role and sliding over to the three-technique occasionally.

He has become a reliable interior disruptor in the Steel City, perfectly willing to do the little things upfront while letting other members of Pittsburgh’s defense, namely T.J. Watt and Bud Dupree accumulate more noticeable statistics. Still, he found time to rack up four sacks and 60 tackles (including seven for loss) in 2019. He has done this while remaining exceptionally durable; he has played in 63 of 64 possible games in four seasons.

That adaptability would serve him well with the Lions, though it will likely cost a significant amount of money to pry him away from the team that drafted him. The Steelers tend to prefer to keep the players that they draft and develop, particularly the good ones. Hargrave certainly fits the bill.

Keeping him will require some shrewd financial maneuvering by the Steelers since they are projected to be over the salary cap in 2020 according to Sportrac. Could this allow a team like the Lions to swoop in and grab the rising young talent? Count on him being an attractive name once the negotiating period arrives, with many teams in addition to Pittsburgh and Detroit being interested in his services.