5 2022 free agents with ties to the coaching staff the Detroit Lions could pursue

2. DE Adam Gotsis

Gotsis has spent the last two seasons with the Jacksonville Jaguars, with three sacks, six tackles for loss and seven quarterback hits over 16 games this season. He also registered 11 quarterback pressures (according to Pro Football Reference).

The final of Lions’ defensive line coach Todd Wash’s five seasons as Jacksonville’s defensive coordinator came in 2020. Gotsis started 14 games for the Jaguars that season.

The Lions could use some depth and experience along the defensive line. Gotsis would be a cheap free agent target that fits the bill, and he’d arguably be a more productive player than a bigger-named incumbent that was brought in via trade last offseason.

1. S Marcus Williams

The Saints are in salary cap purgatory, so higher-end free agents like Williams are sure to be gone. As mentioned, Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn was the Saints defensive backs coach for five seasons (2016-2020), overlapping with Williams for four years and helping him develop into a capable player after a rough end to his rookie season (see “The Minneapolis Miracle”).

Williams set career-high with 74 total tackles this season, while allowing a completion rate just under 49 percent in his coverage (per Pro Football Reference). He has multiple interceptions in all five of his NFL seasons, with 28 passes defensed over the last three.

Williams makes sense as a replacement if the Lions lose Tracy Walker in free agency, and there’s no denying he is a good player. I personally just don’t like the potential cost, when retaining Walker seems to be a priority and he can be re-signed at a similar (or slightly lower) cost. But a pursuit is definitely possible if Walker makes it known he will depart.