4 Cardinals the Detroit Lions could trade for as Arizona embraces tank mode

1. WR Marquise Brown

On his trade block big board piece heading into Week, Kristopher Knox of Bleacher Report naturally included Brown. In naming possible landing spots for him, he went with the Lions as one (along with the San Francisco 49ers).

"The Detroit Lions might also want to consider Brown. Amon-Ra St. Brown is a star No. 1 receiver, but the team lacks speed in the passing game."

"After beating the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 1, Detroit has arrived as a title contender, and it should be willing to go all-in on 2023."

The Baltimore Ravens envisioned Brown as a No. 1 wide receiver when they drafted him 25th overall in 2019, but he proved to be ill-suited to that role. After being traded to the Cardinals in 2022, he had 67 receptions (on 107 targets) for 709 yards and three touchdowns in 12 games last season.

The aforementioned six-game suspension and a preseason hamstring injury make Jameson Williams an unknown quantity when he comes back in Week 7. As the Lions try to win games at that point, giving him a lot of snaps to get acclimated and hoping he'll be productive might not be a great plan.

Good or bad and no matter what you think of him, Brown is a known quantity. He did show he's capable of producing in a high-volume role last season with the Cardinals, especially early (43 receptions over the first six games) before an injury and DeAndre Hopkins' return to action. He had at least eight targets in nine of his 12 game last year.

Brown is set to be a free agent after playing out his $13.4 million fifth-year option this season. So he's a likely trade target for any contending teams looking to bolster their receiving corps, and the Lions can definitely be put into that category.