Roster cutdowns are coming around the NFL at a fast and furious pace, faster than they can even make another flick in that film franchise. The Detroit Lions pumped the brakes on two notable veterans, Breshad Perriman and Mike Ford, in cuts that raised some eyebrows in Detroit and around the NFL.
Monday morning kicked off with the news that Perriman was released. It wasn’t a surprise to see the underwhelming veteran wideout sent packing, despite what far too many fantasy football pundits tried to sell you; Perriman didn’t play well enough to earn a spot, not even on the Lions’ relatively weak and thin receiving corps. Two ugly drops by Perriman in the preseason finale made it easier to sell to fans who held out hope that No. 19 could be a viable weapon in Detroit.
Perriman is not a kneecap-biter, in the parlance of head coach Dan Campbell, It was a risk the Lions knew when they signed him after he quickly washed out with Baltimore. And Washington. And Cleveland. And Tampa Bay. And the Jets.
Breshad Perriman gets the NFL version of ‘Last Chance U’ with the Lions
It would have been nice if it worked, and the theory behind trying Perriman was solid. Reuniting Perriman with WR coach Antwan Randle-El, who coaxed Perriman to his NFL pinnacle in 2019 with the Buccaneers, on the team where his father Brett was a beloved wideout, it made all the sense in the world to try. It cost the Lions $2 million to learn that sometimes there just isn’t any juice left in the lemon. It’s better than sucking on the rind for too long.
The decision to move on from cornerback Mike Ford is a tougher one. Ford is a kneecap-biter, a max-effort guy who has proven himself as an asset on special teams and shown some ability in coverage at times in his three years in Detroit, too.
Ford didn’t have a great summer. After getting the bulk of first-team reps in the slot early on in training camp, Ford got bounced back to the outside. His uneven play in the preseason likely proved that Ford will never be more than he is now, and youngsters like A.J. Parker (who seized the slot CB role) and Bobby Price offer more in the long term.
Stripping away the emotion of losing a likable, hard-working veteran like Ford, it’s a smart business decision by the Lions. Price is younger, more positionally versatile and has the same sort of dynamic special teams impact potential as Ford. The team liked what it saw from Price in converting him from safety to outside CB midway through camp, and that arrow is pointing up. Ford’s arrow is pointing sideways, towards being a special teams-only asset for another team.
Price might very well wind up being exactly that as well, but right now he’s shown the potential to be more than that in Detroit. If it’s not Price, the Lions will import someone who fits that bill that they see with even higher potential. It’s the kind of prudent but tough decision a good organization makes, even if it stings. Fans should appreciate the new-look Lions trying to become a good organization.