5 free agency pivot options for Detroit Lions if Jonah Jackson leaves

1. Nick Allegretti

Over five seasons with the Kansas City Chiefs, Allegretti has never been a full-time starter. So he feels sure to pursue those kind of opportunities on the free agent market, and they should be there for him. In terms of keeping him as a versatile interior line backup, the Chiefs have bigger free agent fish on their radar internally.

Allegretti started the AFC Championship Game and Super Bowl LVIII at left guard in place of an injured Joe Thuney, and he played solidly. It was then revealed he had suffered a torn UCL in his elbow during the second quarter of the Super Bowl, but he did not miss a single snap.

Allegretti talked with The Jim Rome Show about playing with the injury.

"I haven't suffered an injury like that until then," Allegretti said. "I immediately knew. It was something that you heard a pop, you felt it, and knowing minimal about anatomy knew that something was wrong in my elbow. Because my elbow is not supposed to bend that way."

" I would say, for me, I don't think you'll ever experience a nine or 10," Allegretti said when asked to rate how painful the injury was. "If you do it's going to be something really, really bad. So I was probably in that six or seven [range] right when it happened after I processed it. And then at halftime we were able to get the cream on it, massage it a little bit and then throw a brace on it. I was probably playing at about a five."

Playing with a torn elbow ligament, even as inconsequential as the injury might be for an offensive lineman, exemplifies grit. Allegretti's versatility, having played snaps at both guard spots and center last season, would be valuable to the Lions in a certain light too.

But honing in on him as a potential replacement for Jackson at left guard, Allegretti is a very nice-looking fit. He had a 81.5 PFF pass blocking grade last season, and a 70.2 run blocking grade from PFF in the season where he played the most snaps (2020).

Add in what he did in the Super Bowl to play with the injury he did, and Allegretti would fit in seamlessly on one of the league's best offensive lines. Should the Lions have a need to fill, of course.