Category: Trades

Potential candidates if the Detroit Lions are sellers at the NFL trade deadline

The Lions should at least get inquiries about a few players

The NFL’s trade deadline is 4 p.m. ET on Tuesday, Nov. 3rd. Bob Quinn and the Detroit Lions were buyers last week in picking up DE Everson Griffen from the Dallas Cowboys.

But that was before an ugly loss to the Indianapolis Colts that killed any positive momentum. Now the team is 3-4 and facing the prospect of playing the next few games without the best weapon on offense (WR Kenny Golladay) and best player on the defense (DE Trey Flowers).

If Quinn and the Lions decide to be sellers before the deadline, there isn’t a lot to take to market. With Golladay — the No. 1 name other teams will call about — out for at least a week with a vague hip injury, his trade value takes a hit.

Here are some other Lions who could get moved if the team decides it’s better off with the return compensation than the player himself.

Marvin Jones: The 30-year-old WR has fallen off in 2020 but still makes for a solid No. 2 WR on the outside. He’s entering the final months of his contract with the Lions. A contender could flip a late-round pick to rent Jones for eight games and a potential playoff run. Even if he leaves, Jones would be a candidate to return to Detroit in the offseason — provided he doesn’t retire.

Will Harris: In his second season, the 2019 third-round pick has played his way out of the rotation. With Jayron Kearse playing significantly better in the same role and with no tangible improvement to his game after a bad rookie season, the Lions could try to sell off Harris with the idea he’s the defensive version of Travis Fulgham.

Kerryon Johnson: D’Andre Swift has taken over as the top dog in the backfield, and Adrian Peterson also continues to get more reps than Johnson. The team has enviable depth at RB and could part with Johnson to try and fill more glaring holes on the roster elsewhere. Shopping Peterson and his declining yards per carry also makes sense.

Joe Dahl: Detroit’s starting guard has played decently enough, but the team has fourth-round rookie Logan Stenberg waiting in the wings. If they’re looking to see if Stenberg can be the future, it makes sense to shop Dahl to one of the many OL-needy teams.

Matthew Stafford: Now is not the time to trade, or trade for, Stafford. I suspect teams will call and inquire, but it is more about planting possible seeds for after the season.

I don’t expect any moves of significance, but with a new owner in place it’s hard to predict the timbre of the team.

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Seahawks use pick acquired from Lions in the Quandre Diggs trade to land Carlos Dunlap

The pick that went to Seattle with Diggs is now in Cincinnati

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In the latest game of “follow that Lions draft pick” we head to the Pacific Northwest. The Seattle Seahawks have kept the 2019 trade with the Lions for safety Quandre Diggs from being fully completed.

The Lions traded Diggs and a 2021 seventh-round pick to Seattle in October of 2019 in exchange for a 2020 fifth-round pick. Detroit selected RB Jason Huntley with the pick. He’s now in Philadelphia after failing to make the Lions as a rookie.

The Seahawks kept the other pick moving. Seattle traded the Lions’ 2021 seventh-round pick and backup offensive lineman B.J. Finney to the Cincinnati Bengals for defensive end Carlos Dunlap.

The traded pick isn’t officially finalized, but the Seahawks don’t have their own 2021 seventh-round pick to trade. Seattle traded that to the New York Jets in August of 2019 for defensive back Parry Nickerson. He never played a down for the Seahawks and is currently on the Packers injured reserve.

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Kenny Golladay trade rumors and the importance of context

There’s a difference between answering the phone and actively shopping at the trade deadline

The reports are out there that the New York Giants inquired about Kenny Golladay’s availability for a possible trade. Jordan Ranaan of ESPN brought it up on a recent podcast

“I had heard something about this last week. There was at least some conversation about the Giants talking to the Lions about wide receiver Kenny Golladay. My understanding is that it did happen in some shape or form,” Raanan said on Breaking Big Blue.

Ranaan also quickly noted any deal was unlikely to happen and it was more of an inquiry than a negotiation. That’s what GMs do at the trade deadline — they talk. That’s their job.

Still, many in Lions land interpret this credibly reported information as if the sky is falling. Surely GM Bob Quinn can’t be trying to dump Golladay! What is he thinking?

Golladay is a pending free agent and has volleyed some ambiguous messages that his price tag is only going up with each subsequent great catch he makes for the Lions. Reported extension talks earlier this year have not produced an extension, and that leaves the Pro Bowl wideout’s future in Detroit in question. That’s going to lead to a lot of discussion and potential trade inquiries about Golladay.

I’m reminded of the importance of context and perception vs. reality that must be conveyed in the reporting process. Ranaan did his part on this front here, too, but that doesn’t seem to sink in for a lot of the Chicken Little fans who must believe the absolute worst about the Lions 100 percent of the time. So I’ll retort to them with an anecdote that highlights the importance of context and validity in trade talks.

I’ve shared this experience on-air and on podcasts before, but it’s pertinent to write it out here in this instance.

It’s Senior Bowl 2009, Ladd-Peebles Stadium in Mobile, Alabama. This was before the game and practices blew up into the must-do status amongst the NFL Draft community, back before tiered credentials and limited access to certain people/places was implemented.

On a chilly morning I was seated for the early practice session with a friend who worked for the Washington Football Team, then under its former moniker. Seated two rows in front of us on the press box side of the stadium was none other than Patriots coach Bill Belichick. He sat by himself, with binoculars around his neck even though he was only about 15 rows up from field level. Up walked New Orleans Saints coach Sean Payton, and his opening greeting was a doozy.

Payton sat down next to Belichick and asked him, “What do you want for that Brady guy?”

Obviously Payton was not serious. Belichick didn’t interpret as serious and he chuckled before greeting Payton. It was an ice-breaker between two colleagues that sure seemed friendly at the time. They wound up talking for several minutes, mostly about mutual friends in the coaching business from what I could hear.

Despite the glaring evidence that it was nothing of the sort, I could have written the bait-y headline, “Belichick listens to offer for Tom Brady”. It would have been factually and semantically correct. Another team’s head coach did indeed inquire about the availability of Tom Brady. Never mind that it quite obviously was not serious. Payton asked about Brady. I even had a witness to it, one who I’ve shared the remembrance with at several subsequent Senior Bowls–always for a laugh.

Is that what’s going on here? Not exactly. I suspect the Giants were serious in inquiring about the possible availability of Golladay. The Lions side of the story is unknown, but Bob Quinn is a capable enough GM that he’s at least going to listen. He might have curtly told the Giants to keep losing with what they’ve got. Or Quinn might have demanded Saquon Barkley, Golden Tate, 3 first-round picks and cash considerations. We don’t know, and frankly it doesn’t really matter.

Good players like Golladay who are playing out expiring contracts are going to attract attention from other teams. That’s not a negative, by the way. It means you’ve got talent other teams covet. Reporting that other teams are interested does not equate to the Lions shipping Golladay or looking to move him or whatever other reporting euphemism you prefer for trade talks.

It’s Quinn’s job to both make and receive calls in advance of the trade deadline. Unless you personally know who called whom and the exact nature of the discussion, reporting that the teams have talked means next to nothing. Of course they have; it’s what GMs do this time of year.

 

Lions trade a conditional 6th round pick to the Cowboys for DE Everson Griffen

NFL network’s Ian Rapoport that the Detroit Lions are trading a conditional 6th round pick to the Dallas Cowboys for defensive end Everson Griffen.

NFL network’s Ian Rapoport and ESPN’s Adam Schefter are reporting that the Detroit Lions are trading a conditional 6th round pick to the Dallas Cowboys for defensive end Everson Griffen.

The Lions have refocused their approach on defense and are now leaning on more defensive linemen to stunt the run and open up the pass rush — and it’s working.

Since the bye week, that has meant more time with versatile defensive linemen on the field and a sudden need for big bodies who can lineup at multiple spots and rush the passer.

Enter Everson Griffen.

Trey Flowers and Romeo Okwara are thriving on the EDGE but with Julian Okwara on injured reserve and Austin Bryant still working his way back from the PUP list, the Lions were painfully weak on depth. Griffen instantly corrects that.

Griffen has always been a menace when playing against the Lions and now the Lions are getting an opportunity to unleash him on someone else. He has the ability to play all along the defensive line similar to how Flowers and Okwara are used.

Griffen is a natural fit in the Lions scheme, and while he will probably only be asked to play a pass-rushing role early as he acclimates, he is coming to Detroit at a time when the team is on the rise — winning three of the last four games and entering a stretch of very winnable games.

Buckle up Lions fans, they’re making a run at this.

The Athletic proposes a Lions LB for Eagles CB trade

The Athletic’s Sheil Kapadia recently proposed the Detroit Lions and Philadelphia Eagles making a training camp trade, swapping back-seven defenders.

The Athletic’s Sheil Kapadia recently proposed the Detroit Lions and Philadelphia Eagles making a training camp trade, swapping back-seven defenders (paid).

Kapadia’s proposal: Even swap of Lions linebacker Jalen Reeves-Maybin for Eagles cornerback Sidney Jones.

For Reeves-Maybin, this would be an opportunity to shift back to a 43 scheme (the Eagles defensive coordinator is former-Lions coach Jim Schwartz and they run his 43 Wide-9 scheme) which would highlight his strengths. His speed to the football and instincts would offer him more opportunities to find the field on defense in this scheme, either in subpackage MIKE work or as an every-down WILL.

For the Lions, adding Jones would reunite him with new Lions defensive coordinator Cory Undlin (who was the Eagles defensive backs coach during Jones’ entire NFL career) and would give the Lions youth, depth, and familiarity on the outside.

Desmond Trufant, Jeff Okudah, and Justin Coleman are expected to start and Amani Oruwariye looks primed to be the third option on the outside but adding Jones — a former second-round pick out of Washington — would give the Lions another option familiar with Undlin’s approach to playing in the secondary.

At linebacker, the Lions can afford to lose some depth with Reggie Ragland now in the mix but they would surely feel the loss on special teams. Working in their favor is the heavy investment the Lions made on special teams this offseason, but losing arguably their best non-kicking special teamer would hurt.

Erik’s take

Typically I am opposed to trade proposal suggested by writers who cover the league instead of a specific team, but Kapadia is a former Eagles beat writer and I think he makes a strong case that would benefit both teams.

Losing Reeves-Maybin’s special teams’ contributions would hurt for sure, but he is firmly on the bubble this training camp. While the upside of Jones — who could temporarily step up if Trufant or Okudah struggle to adjust to the Lions’ scheme — would offer the Lions insurance and the most important position in this defensive scheme.

Is Jones an upgrade over Mike Ford/Darryl Roberts?

Can Reggie Ragland replace Reeves-Maybin on defense?

Can Miles Killebrew replace Reeves-Maybin on special teams?

If the answer yes to those questions, this is a trade the Lions would probably entertain — and I wouldn’t blame them.

Michael Jackson adds to the growing list of Bob Quinn trades between the Lions and Patriots

Quinn hasn’t gone more than 10 months without making a trade with his former employer since coming to Detroit in January of 2016

My phone alerted me to an email a little after 4 p.m. on Sunday. I only saw a snippet of the subject in the preview.

“Lions trade CB Michael Jackson”

I didn’t see the rest of the subject or the body, but I knew instantly where Jackson was heading. Recent history dictates that if the Lions are going to make a trade, it’s with the New England Patriots. It’s what they do.

Prior to the Jackson trade, which brings back an undisclosed 2022 draft pick for a player the Lions were cutting, the last trade Detroit made was also with New England. That trade back in March brought safety Duron Harmon and the draft pick that became DL Jashon Cornell to Detroit, in exchange for a draft pick that wound up being traded back to Detroit by the Raiders in a package that became OG Logan Stenberg and RB Jason Huntley.

In June of last year, the Lions dealt TE Michael Roberts to the Patriots. That deal fell through when Roberts couldn’t pass a physical.

While Bob Quinn has made trades with other teams as well in his tenure as the team’s GM since 2016, he definitely has a thing for working deals with his former employer in New England.

May 2016 – The Lions sent a conditional 2017 seventh-round draft pick to New England for LB Jon Bostic. Bostic never played for the Lions so the pick remained with Detroit.

October 2016 – Detroit dealt LB Kyle Van Noy to New England along with a 2017 seventh-round pick in return for a 2017 sixth-round pick. The Lions used that pick on QB Brad Kaaya. New England traded the seventh-round pick in a swap of three picks that produced players who were all out of the league by the end of 2018.

April 2017 – A draft-day trade resulted in the Lions sending their third-round pick to the Patriots for a third-rounder and a fourth-rounder. Detroit’s acquired third-round pick became WR Kenny Golladay. The fourth-rounder was used to select LB Jalen Reeves-Maybin. The Patriots traded up to draft OT Antonio Garcia, who never made an NFL roster, not even as a third-round rookie.

Interestingly enough, the Patriots had acquired the pick Detroit used on Golladay from the Browns in a trade for … now-Lions LB Jamie Collins.

September 2017 – The Lions traded CB Johnson Bademosi to New England for a 2019 sixth-round pick. That pick got packaged by the Lions as part of a deal (with Minnesota) to move up in the 2019 draft and select S Will Harris in the third round. Talk about delayed gratification…

April 2018 – During the draft, the Lions dealt a second-round and fourth-round pick to New England to move up and select RB Kerryon Johnson earlier in the second round. New England traded away both the acquired picks, one to Chicago (WR Anthony Miller) and the other to Tampa Bay (S Jordan Whitehead). The Patriots have also since traded the player they draft with the pick they acquired from Tampa Bay, CB Duke Dawson.

April 2018 – Another draft-day deal saw the Lions send a 2019 third-round pick to New England for the Patriots’ fourth-round pick in 2018. The Lions drafted DE Da’Shawn Hand. As is their custom, the Patriots traded away the acquired pick for three other picks, of which they traded two and selected RB Damien Harris with the third.

That’s eight total trades between Quinn and the Patriots since March of 2016. Interestingly enough the Lions have come out net winners on all but one of them.

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Lions trade CB Michael Jackson to Patriots

Despite reporting earlier in the day that they were releasing corner Michael Jackson, the Detroit Lions instead opted to trade him to New England Patriots for an undisclosed draft pick in 2022.

Despite reporting earlier in the day that they were releasing second-year cornerback Michael Jackson, the Detroit Lions have instead opted to trade him to New England Patriots for an undisclosed draft pick in 2022.

Jackson was selected by the Dallas Cowboys with pick 158 in the 2019 NFL draft — 12 picks after the Lions selected Amani Oruwariuye — but he failed to make their roster and signed on to their practice squad.

In late October, the Lions signed Jackson off the Cowboys practice squad and added him to their 53-man roster. Jackson would be a healthy scratch for eight of the nine games he was on the Lions roster, only seeing the field in Week 12 for two special teams snaps.

At 6-1, 210 pounds, Jackson’s ability to play press-man coverage is a great fit for the Lions scheme and therefore he should translate to the Patriots scheme with ease.

An undisclosed pick for the Lions could mean a variety of things but these deals usually come with stipulations like whether or not Jackson makes the Patriots roster — so don’t hold your breath this trade actually nets the Lions much, if anything at all.

Tracking the Lions’ well-traveled, oft-traded 5th-round pick

The pick was traded for itself twice

It’s not uncommon for Day 3 draft picks to get traded. Nearly 40 percent of the picks made in Rounds 4-7 were traded at some point from 2016-2019. But in the case of the Detroit Lions fifth-round pick, it’s been quite a journey.

The Lions acquired the No. 172 overall pick from the Seattle Seahawks in exchange for Quandre Diggs. That trade went down during the 2019 season. Detroit then dealt the pick to New England in the trade to acquire safety Duron Harmon.

Effectively, the Lions traded the compensation for Quandre Diggs to replace Diggs in the secondary. But that’s not the end of the road for No. 172…

New England shipped the pick to Las Vegas in a Friday night trade with the Raiders as part of a large swap involving five total picks. The Raiders sent that hot potato right back where it started on Saturday, including 172 as one of the two picks in the deal to acquire Detroit’s 4th round selection at No. 109 overall.

The Lions finally used the pick on Saturday, selecting New Mexico State RB Jason Huntley.

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3 players who the Lions could trade for in the 2020 NFL Draft

Draft picks can get flipped for veteran players, and 3 recently made available by their teams make sense for the Detroit Lions

Trades are commonplace throughout the NFL draft. Picks get dealt all the time. But what if Lions GM Bob Quinn executed a trade involving a pick for a more proven player?

It is certainly possible in the unprecedented circumstances of the 2020 NFL Draft. Three players who can provide instant, veteran help to the Lions are reportedly on the trading block. Quinn needs to at least explore the possibility of acquiring each of them.

All three have been freshly rumored to be available, though the veracity of their reported availability is unknown. None should be worth more to the Lions than their pick at the top of the 4th round, No. 109 overall.

Kenny Stills, WR, Texans

It’s hard to explain what is going on with the Houston Texans as led by GM/head coach Bill O’Brien. After dealing away arguably the NFL’s best receiver, DeAndre Hopkins, for relative peanuts, the Texans then brought in high risk/reward wideout Brandin Cooks.

Their WR room is crowded with Cooks, Will Fuller, recently signed Randall Cobb and Keke Coutee. Stills, who turns 28 this week, is rumored to be the odd man out. If he is, he’s the kind of receiver the Lions can use to bolster the corps.

Stills caught 40 passes for 561 yards and four TDs in his first season in Houston, primarily playing as the No. 3 WR option behind Hopkins and Fuller. His appeal to the Lions would be how well he works in the middle of the field on both short and intermediate routes, but also works quite well in tandem with his WR mates.

He’s in the last year of his contract and is due $7 million in 2020. Given the Texans’ recent trades, it’s darn near impossible to even attempt to discern what they might want in return, but Quinn should at least call his old New England cohort, O’Brien.

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Yannick Ngakoue demands a trade: What the Lions should offer for the Jaguars EDGE

Jaguars standout pass rusher Yannick Ngakoue has demanded a trade out of Jacksonville, and the Detroit Lions should be very interested

As they are prone to do, things are rapidly coming to an ugly head in Jacksonville between the Jaguars organization and a top-shelf player. Standout EDGE Yannick Ngakoue has formally demanded a trade from the team.

Ngakoue has been upset with the team for using the franchise tag on him after making what he’s described as little effort to try and reach a long-term agreement. On his 25th birthday, Ngakoue played the same card Darius Slay did the night before the Lions finally acquiesced to his trade desires: he quote-tweeted a trade note and amplified it up to 11.

From Twitter:

The Lions certainly seem like a team that would have major interest in a 25-year-old pass rushing specialist with 37.5 sacks in four NFL seasons. That’s five more sacks than Jadeveon Clowney has bagged in six years. Ngakoue can play the JACK role in the Lions defense but is an even better fit as a stand-up rush end capable of flopping sides, the way the Houston Texans often use Whitney Mercilus. Nkagoue’s upfield burst and bend to the QB are a different element than the Lions have had as a pass rusher in quite some time.

What would it take to get Ngakoue?

As was the case with Slay being traded to the Eagles, it first requires the Lions committing to pay Ngakoue a significant new contract. Detroit does have the cap room to make it happen.

Ngakoue’s younger age and greater positional importance dictates a higher return than the 3rd and 5th round picks Slay commanded. My best guess is the Jaguars would want two of the Lions’ three Day 2 picks. Detroit owns No. 35 overall in the second round and two picks in the third.

That’s a similar return to what the Texans received from Seattle for Clowney, who was in this exact same boat a year ago. Houston got a third-round pick and two backup players. Perhaps the Lions’ top third-rounder and LB Jarrad Davis gets it done? It’s a fair starting point in any hypothetical negotiation, at least.