Detroit Lions seek Ford tough GM for rebuild, new direction

The new Detroit Lions general manager will have a huge opportunity. They will also have a big undertaking to fix the roster.

Perhaps you watched Saturday afternoon as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers dismantled the Detroit Lions, 47-7. If you did, it highlighted the daunting task facing whatever new general manager and head coach combination that principle owner Sheila Ford Hamp (and company) brings in. Let’s look at the qualifications needed to navigate the current situation.

First off, we should tip our hat to Mrs. Hamp for meeting the challenge of having to make tough decisions in her first year as the acting principle owner. It would ave been easy to say that general manager Bob Quinn and head coach Matt Patricia deserved another year to figure things out. She did not give them excuses or more time, she made a difficult call.

The Detroit Lions are 5-10 going into Week 17 and have earned the 7th slot in the NFL Draft if nothing changes. That should leave the new general manager with five draft picks, depending on the conditions of the Everson Griffen trade from October, which could turn the compensation into a fifth-round selection instead of the conditional sixth that they parted with already. So, either they keep pick 135 or get back 170 after swapping it, according to current order from Tankathon’s website.

According to Over The Cap’s website, which tracks cap space, deals, free agency, and other NFL transactions, the Lions have about $11.3 million to spend at the moment going into 2021. That amount varies depending upon which website you look at and their calculation method. Spotrac, another pro sports transaction website, has the available cap space at $968,000 for 2021.

Neither amount is particularly inviting but any general manager candidate will weigh the roster situation considering that four teams (Lions, Atlanta Falcons, Jacksonville Jaguars, and Houston Texans) are currently looking for a general manager; only the Jaguars are in a great spot, currently holding the top draft slot and the most cap space in the NFL at the same time.

They appear to have won the “Tank for Trevor” sweepstakes and the ability to draft Trevor Lawrence, the Clemson quarterback and current football IT boy. Let’s look at the roster that the new GM will have to work with, shall we?