5 free agents Detroit Lions can still sign to bolster their pass rush
4. DE/Edge Takk McKinley
2021 Team: Cleveland Browns
Since posting 13 sacks over his first two NFL seasons with the Atlanta Falcons, who drafted him 26th overall in 2017, McKinley’s star is all but gone. The Falcons went all the way to cutting ties when they waved him during the 2020 season, as he criticized the team’s refusal to trade him.
McKinley played 43 percent of the snaps over 11 games last season with the Cleveland Browns, with 18 total tackles, three tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks, eight quarterback hits and a forced fumble. He also suffered a ruptured Achilles in December (Week 15), so he’s unlikely to make an early season impact wherever he lands in free agency.
On his list of NFL free agents who could “blow up” on new teams heading into free ageny, Kristopher Knox of Bleacher Report pointed to the Lions as a possible fit for McKinley.
"The key for McKinley will be to get healthy and find a team that can give him a significant role. Rebuilding clubs that struggled with sacks in 2021—such as the Detroit Lions and Jacksonville Jaguars—are ideal candidates to take a flier."
The Lions could still take a cheap flier on McKinley. The market for his services isn’t robust, with no teams rumored to have interest yet.
3. DE/DT Adam Gotsis
2021 Team: Jacksonville Jaguars
Over 443 snaps for the Jaguars last season Gotsis had three sacks, six tackles for loss, 11 quarterback pressures and seven quarterback hits. Lions defensive line coach Todd Wash had him as Jacksonville’s defensive coordinator in 2020, when Gotsis started 14 games.
Gotsis profiles as primarily a run stuffer, with just eight career sacks. But of course three of those sacks came last year, despite playing the lowest numbers of snaps since his rookie season in 2016. So there is some untapped upside as a pass rusher, even in a rotational role, and he might be scheme-versatile enough to line up across the Detrot defensive line as they move toward using four-man fronts.