Will the Lions look to sign this Rams pass rusher in free agency?
The Detroit Lions have revamped their front office and coaching staff. Next up, the Lions’ roster. And that retooling kicked off with a bang via the pending trade of their veteran franchise quarterback, Matthew Stafford.
The Lions have agreed to trade Stafford to the Los Angeles Rams for a bounty of future draft picks and quarterback Jared Goff. And it’s not a coincidence that Detroit was able to strike a bargain with the Rams.
That’s due to the fact the Lions hired Brad Holmes as their new general manager. Holmes has spent the past 18 years with the Rams’ organization, the last eight years as their director of college scouting.
Not only does Holmes have a prior relationship with the team the Lions choose to trade Stafford away to, but he’s also had a major hand in acquiring many of the players in Los Angeles including Goff.
With that in mind, might Holmes choose to bring over some of “his guys” from the Rams to the Lions this offseason? It certainly seems plausible as the previous regime in the Motor City had no qualms about signing players from their previous employer, the New England Patriots.
With free agency starting up next month, we thought it would be a good idea to see which players were hitting the open market from the Rams and gauge whether they might be a good fit in Detroit. And one big name stood out.
Lions fans know that name. It’s linebacker Leonard Floyd. The former first-round selection by the Chicago Bears in 2016 inked a one-year, $10 million deal to join the Rams last offseason. Floyd rewarded Los Angeles by racking up a career-high 10.5 sacks in 2020.
And while you’d think the Rams would look to retain a double-digit sacker, our FanSided partners over at ramblinfan.com don’t believe the team will be able to re-sign Floyd. And that’s due to an anticipated bidding war for his services.
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While the Detroit Lions are certainly not looking to overpay free agents, pass rush remains a major concern in Motown. And with elite pass rushers rarely hitting the open market, ponying up for someone like Leonard Floyd could make sense. Especially considering the Lions’ sack leader from last season, defensive end Romeo Okwara, who posted a career-high 10.0 sacks himself, is set to become a free agent as well next month.