Detroit Lions ‘ideal’ offseason trade scenario is not ideal at all

Bleacher Report’s ‘ideal’ offseason trade scenario for the Detroit Lions is not really ideal at all.

For the Detroit Lions, this offseason is a mix of trying to build things patiently but also having a bit of, let’s call it aggession when it comes to adding players. General manager Brad Holmes will have to find the right mix.

Trades are certainly on Holmes’ radar, from now to right through the end of the draft and maybe beyond. Ideally, any trade won’t involve surrendering too much, if any, premium draft capital from the next couple years.

Bleacher Report’s Alex Ballentine has laid out an ideal offseason trade scenario for each NFL team. It could be trading a player, acquiring a player, moving up or down in the draft, etc. A lot of them make sense. As for the Lions’ ‘ideal’ trade….

Lions’ ‘ideal’ offseason trade has them acquiring Kyler Murray

We are in an era where athletes’ social media activity is closely watched, so it was something when Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray scrubbed his Twitter and Instagram of all references to the team. And then, he somehow wondered what all the fuss was about.

The Cardinals have said what they need to say about nothing changing in terms of their high regard for Murray. But something is amiss in the desert, and Ballentine cited that.

"The relationship between the Arizona Cardinals and Kyler Murray appears to be strained.The acrimony between the two sides could be great news for a franchise like the Detroit Lions. The Lions are in a position where they have few quarterback options outside of sticking with Jared Goff for another year. They can walk away from his contract next season and only incur $10 million in dead-cap charges.Murray is going into the fourth year of his rookie deal, which will pay him around $11.4 million this season. From there, he’ll likely get his fifth-year option before seeking a massive payday.The Lions are in a prime position to trade for a quarterback like Murray. They have five picks in the top 100, including the second and 32nd selections in the first round.With $21.0 million in cap space right now and surplus draft stock, the Lions have the asset mobility to put a package together for Murray that would expedite their rebuild process without completely depleting their resources."

First, there’s no realistic way the Lions would do a deal for Murray without trading Goff. It’s not out of the question, it just doesn’t feel likely Detroit will be able to move off Goff too easily this offseason.

Taking on Murray, along Ballentine’s premise of keeping Goff and even on a relatively inexpensive fifth-year option, would eat about half of the Lions’ current 2022 cap space.

Then we get to surrendering draft picks. Ballentine doesn’t mentions specifics for a Murray offer, he just cites the Lions having two first-rounders (No. 2 and No. 32) and five of the first 100 selections in this year’s draft. It’s worth mentioning the extra 2023 first-round pick the Lions have too. What would the Cardinals ask for? Two first-rounders feels like a starting point, with all three of the aforementioned first-rounders not out of the question as an asking price.

Beyond the fit financially (this year and beyond, as he eyes a big contract extension) and the cost in a trade, there are questions out there about Murray’s leadership intangibles. If we’ve learned anything about Dan Campbell, that kind of thing matters to him in a quarterback.

So the Lions’ “ideal” offseason trade scenario of acquiring Murray is hardly ideal. Along with that, it just doesn’t make much sense.