By any possible measure as a pass defense, the Detroit Lions are at least among the worst in the league through four weeks. Issues in the secondary aren't unique to this season, but the level of ineptitude is on another level right now.
The Lions were involved in trade talks with the Pittsburgh Steelers about cornerback Joey Porter Jr., but it was easy to predict they wouldn't make an unbeatable trade offer. There are some other potential options out there, and it's fair to say something will be done as general manager Brad Holmes needs to pivot off his assertion about liking the cornerback room.
A change in circumstances of other teams may lead to some new trade options coming to light. On that note, the Philadelphia Eagles had right tackle Lane Johnson announce his retirement on Tuesday. Then on Wednesday, they traded center Cam Jurgens to the Baltimore Ravens.
It's hard to envision the Eagles going into full-blown rebuild mode. But they have not looked very good on their way to a 2-2 record, and a shake-up appears to be starting.
Lions have an obvious CB trade target if the Eagles are punting on 2026
A team starting to trade notable players so far ahead of the Nov. 10 trade deadline should get the immediate attention of the Lions' front office. The Eagles (probably) aren't trading cornerbacks Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean, since they can be core pieces of a reset roster.
But there is an Eagles' corner who could, and arguably should, be of interest to the Lions.
After four seasons with the Seattle Seahawks, Riq Woolen signed a one-year, $12 million deal with the Eagles last offseason. The Lions probably should've been in the mix to sign him at somewhere around that price point, which speaks to one of the differences between Holmes and Eagles general manager Howie Roseman. Roseman is never content, while Holmes will say how much he likes who he has until he's Honolulu Blue in the face.
To be fair, Woolen has been a bit more name than game since he had six interceptions as a rookie in 2022. He has six interceptions over the three-plus season since. However, he does have 39 pass breakups over that span with a sub-80.0 passer rating allowed in each of the last three full seasons.
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The idea of trading for Woolen has to come with accounting for his contact. His one-year deal has four void years attached, to spread out the salary cap hit of a $6 million signing bonus. Over The Cap added how the Eagles used the "50 percent rule" to prorate $4.74 million in salary, which makes his base salary for this year just $1.26 million.
It all adds up very little financial cost for a team that could trade for Woolen.
Via Spotrac's Trade Machine, as of this week to create the proration of Woolen's base salary, a potential acquiring team would take on a $910,000 cap hit.
Taking on a less than $1 million cap hit for this year, with no further commitment unless they want to make one eventually, should be right up the Lions' alley when it comes to a cornerback trade target.
An early Day 3 pick should hypothetically be on the table for any cornerback trade target who may be on the Lions' radar. In regard to Woolen, it's worth checking with the Eagles to see if they're looking to offload expiring contracts in order to accumulate future draft capital.
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