Why the Detroit Lions should not re-sign tackle Taylor Decker
What roster options are there? Or what could be a longer-term plan?
The cupboard isn’t completely bare. The Detroit Lions and Bob Quinn have drafted some talent up front that has some potential. While none are proven options, offensive linemen work best when they know each other and the system. That doesn’t mean that talent means nothing but coaches can scheme to hide deficiencies, which is the whole reason there’s game planning, to begin with.
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Looking at our roster, we could live with a combination of Tyrell Crosby and Halapoulivaati Vaitai as our bookends for some amount of time. Matt Nelson or some other guy could be retained to give the Lions some depth or a lower-end free agent could be procured.
Obviously, if we let Decker play out his contract and let him go in free agency next year, we could also enlist additional help from the draft. As it is, the Detroit Lions need to draft another tackle to stay stocked to open holes for their young running backs Kerryon Johnson and D’Andre Swift regardless of Decker’s status.
Some prospects like Detroit’s own Alaric Jackson, a University of Iowa left tackle, could be available outside of the first round in 2021.
Won’t we just keep being in this boat every few years if we don’t re-sign our players?
Short answer: To some degree, sure.
Longer answer: What we want as our long-term strategy is to only give huge deals to less risky, highly productive players at key positions where suitable temporary options are not there. That is what we have learned from the New England Patriots way, they are stingy with big contracts but when they find “the guy” they treat him right. Save your money until you feel sure and find system players to fill in your roster gaps until you find a keeper.
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Big contracts also often cripple teams financially if players become chronically injured, get hurt in any fashion, get past their prime, or are just never the same after a new deal. Rookies are now the cheaper thing to use to fill holes and good general managers find depth throughout the draft to keep their salary cap low enough to spend on the keepers.
If Bob Quinn is as good as he thinks he is, he should just say, “No.”