During Sunday’s Divisional Round playoff games, these 4 upcoming free agents should be on the Detroit Lions’ radar.
The Detroit Lions are into offseason mode in a good position to add plenty of talent to a roster that nearly made the playoffs this year. How aggressive general manager Brad Holmes will be on the free agent market is a question, but big splashes have not been his mode in his first two offseasons on the job.
That being said, the Lions have a path to creating a lot more cap space, albeit with a little bit of dead money on the back end. But their roster needs also aren’t as widespread as they’ve been the last two offseasons. So some, let’s call it “calculated aggression” on the open market to sign some outside free agents may be in order.
This year’s Divisional Round playoff action wraps up on Sunday, with the Cincinnati Bengals taking on the Buffalo Bills (3 p.m. ET, CBS) followed by the Dallas Cowboys and the San Francisco 49ers (6:30 p.m. ET, FOX).
During Sunday’s playoff action, these four free agents should especially be on the Lions’ radar.
4 free agents the Detroit Lions should watch during Divisional Round Sunday
4. Bills OG Greg Van Roten
Van Roten has not been a full-time starter for the Bills this season, but he did start four regular season games and he played every snap in three of them. Going back to the previous four seasons, split between the New York Jets (2020-2021) and Carolina Panthers (2018-2019) and both primarily playing both guard spots (left guard for the Jets, left guard for the Panthers), he started at total of 50 games. He can also play center.
After he missed this entire season with a back injury, the Lions may be looking to replace Halapoulivaati Vaitai as their starting right guard. Evan Brown, who filled in for Frank Ragnow at center in 2021 and proved capable much of the time at right guard this year )when he himself was healthy), is a free agent.
Van Roten’s experience an interior line versatility would be a good fit for the Lions, if they have that void to fill.