Carson Strong instantly surfaces as interesting quarterback option for the Lions

The Detroit Lions are surely keeping an eye on quarterback roster cuts around the league, and Carson Strong is now a very interesting option.

There’s no doubt the Detroit Lions are in the market for a backup quarterback, with Tim Boyle and David Blough not doing enough in the preseason to lock in the spot behind Jared Goff. Expectations should not have been any different there, after deciding to run it back with Boyle and Blough this offseason.

The Lions have to be eyeing the waiver wire for quarterbacks as other teams start making cuts. On Monday, first according to Jonathan Jones of CBS Sports, the Philadelphia Eagles waived undrafted rookie signal caller Carson Strong.

As Jones noted, the Eagles gave Strong $320,000 guaranteed as an undrafted free agent.

The Eagles didn’t really give Strong a chance, oddly. He barely got practice work in training camp, and he had just four pass attempts during the preseason.

Carson Strong now an interesting quarterback option for the Lions

Strong fell from a possible first-round pick at one point to all the way out of April’s draft due to concerns about his surgically repaired knees. But there were no indications of health-related limitations in Eagles’ camp, and there’s no denying what he did at the University of Nevada.

Over his final two years as the Mountain West Wolfpack’s signal caller, Strong led the FBS in touchdown passes (63), passing yards (7,033) and interception ratio (one in every 73 attempts) with the second-best completion rate (70.3 percent) (h/t to Reuben Frank of NBC Sports Philadelphia).

Strong, with health no apparent concern, should not go unclaimed on waivers even if he lands as someone’s No. 3 quarterback. So if the Eagles think they can get him through waivers and back to their practice squad, that’s probably not happening.

The Lions still have the No. 2 waiver wire priority. So anyone they want they can pretty much have, and the Jacksonville Jaguars (who have top waiver priority) aren’t likely to be looking at quarterbacks.

Strong is not a lock to get claimed by the Lions. But on a list of quarterback options that may not look great on the whole, he’s got more intrigue than many will have and they should have at least some cursory interest.