Detroit Lions: Build a complete team, but don’t forget the quarterback

Even great teams need last-minute heroics

The upcoming draft has a handful of quarterback prospects that could be outstanding in the NFL. There are no guarantees, but if a team believes they have a franchise quarterback available to them when they’re on the clock, then you best pull the trigger and get him.

Recent developments with the Miami/San Francisco trade have made it more unlikely that the Lions will have much if any of the top passers on the board to choose from when they are on the clock.

If that’s the case, then I say trade back, get extra assets and choose wisely in an effort to build the Lions into contenders, if they can get a trade partner.

But that doesn’t mean they should ignore the quarterback position completely. There is always next year and it doesn’t really change the course of the Lions rebuild.

Some people believe that the restructuring of Jared Goff’s contract makes him the Lions quarterback. Period. It actually doesn’t change much. Due to how his contract was when Detroit acquired him, he was already guaranteed to be here for 2021 and 2022 before he could be released without any kind of cap hit.

Now that his contract has been restructured it doesn’t change matters much. After the 2022 season, there would be a cap hit of $10 million to release Goff if the Lions choose to do so, but it isn’t crippling.

One way or another, the Lions should think a franchise quarterback is a must-have for their shopping list. If it doesn’t work out in the draft next month, then Brad Holmes can start looking ahead to next year. Jared Goff will be fine as a place-holder, but the plan should be to do better.

The concept of the Lions assembling a complete team is something that hasn’t been seen very much in these parts over the years, but quarterback is still the most important position on the field, and having one that can save the team when it is needed is invaluable.

Even great teams sometimes need last-second heroics and when you consider the rigors of facing the best teams in the league in the postseason, then sacrificing talent at the quarterback position is nothing more than diminishing a teams’ opportunity to win the Super Bowl.

So Brad Holmes should build a fierce, hard-hitting defense, a dominant offensive line, a stable of slick runners in the backfield, and play-makers at receiver. But don’t forget the franchise quarterback because that’s the piece that can take a good team and make it a legitimate contender.