Detroit Lions: 3 remaining free agents who would help out immediately

1. Jadeveon Clowney- Defensive End

The case for: On paper the Lions’ defensive line still looks middle of the road or worse by NFL standards, even with Nick Williams and Danny Shelton signing in free agency and John Penisini arriving via the draft. Generating more sacks from the line will be a high priority this year after getting a paltry 13 from that position group in 2019.

Clowney is a three time Pro Bowler and still only 27 years old. Despite a down season in 2019, a pairing opposite Trey Flowers would undoubtedly inspire more fear in opposing offensive coordinators than the current bunch.

The case against: Mary Kay Cabot at Cleveland.com, writing about the Browns’ frustration trying to lure Clowney, mentions that his asking price is around $17 million a year. This would make him the third highest player on the team in Detroit, just behind Trey Flowers.

Considering that Flowers is overpaid by just about any objective measure, I don’t know how you can justify putting that much money into defensive ends for that few of sacks (neither has ever reached double digits for a  pro season). Clowney is also coming off an injury-riddled season which resulted in his lowest statistical output since he was a rookie.

Likelihood of this happening: It’s been brought up by the Detroit beat writers several times, but there hasn’t been any real traction towards it happening for real. Then again, the longer he remains unsigned, the more fans can dream about an eleventh hour upgrade to the defensive line. I think the Lions will indeed end up getting one more pass rusher, but unfortunately not Clowney.