The roster cutdown period will see hundreds of players suddenly available in the coming days. If the Detroit Lions are seeking a specific player or position that is expected to be cut by another team, making a minor trade instead of waiting through the waiver wire claim or open market is a shrewd way to build up the bottom of the roster.
Our Wire network of editors listed one player from each team who is a good candidate to be traded in the next few days. Obviously, not all will be dealt, but it’s a good look at what types of players and positional talent will be available after the final preseason games this weekend.
Here are four players whose names came up on the Wire list who would make sense as trade targets for the Lions.
Gardner Minshew, QB, Jaguars
Minshew is the best young quarterback available. He’s never going to get ahead of No. 1 pick Trevor Lawrence in Jacksonville and the Jaguars like what they’ve seen from veteran C.J. Beathard too. While Minshew isn’t a likely successor to Jared Goff, he does represent a more skilled and feisty backup option than either David Blough or Tim Boyle in Detroit. Neither has impressed enough to avoid being replaced.
N’Keal Harry, WR, Patriots
The sales pitch to acquire Harry isn’t a great one. A former first-round pick who has not panned out at all in New England, harry is also battling injury issues this preseason. A conditional late-round pick would secure his services at a position where the Lions are clearly seeking long-term potential, and Detroit does have the cap room to take on the remainder of his rookie contract.
Antonio Gandy-Golden, WR, Football Team
Gandy-Golden is the victim of circumstance in Washington. The Football Team’s fourth-round pick in 2020 out of Liberty lost most of his rookie campaign to injury and COVID-19, and the team appears to have moved on already. His size and playing style are quite similar to ex-Lions WR Kenny Golladay. While it was a different regime, the Lions did coach Gandy-Golden in Senior Bowl week in 2020.
Taylor Rapp, S, Rams
Rapp is a hyper-athletic box safety who bagged 100 tackles as a rookie in 2019. Lions GM Brad Holmes knows him well as the leader of the scouting staff that tabbed Rapp in the second round of that draft. The Rams defense doesn’t really use that kind of player anymore. Rapp would be an instant upgrade over Will Harris in that “big” safety role and can even play some hybrid LB/S.