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Ranking the Detroit Lions unrestricted, restricted, and exclusive rights free agents heading into 2021 offseason.
The Detroit Lions will enter the 2021 offseason with 18 of the 53-players on the active roster unrestricted free agents. They also have one restricted free agent and three exclusive rights free agents.
In this piece, we have separated the players into six ranked tiers based on the level of importance to the team and the role they would fill if they return next season.
These former Tennessee standouts were in action over the NFL weekend.
Week 13 of the National Football League is complete.
Week 13 showcased games taken place on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday due to schedule adjustments with COVID-19 protocols.
Several former Vols were in action for their respective teams. Below is a recap of every VFL that registered a statistic in Week 13 of the NFL.
The Detroit Lions (3-3) have declared their Week 8 injury designation for this week’s game against the Indianapolis Colts (4-2).
The Detroit Lions (3-3) have declared their Week 8 injury designation for this week’s game against the Indianapolis Colts (4-2) and four players, including three starters, are listed as questionable.
Here’s a look at the Lions’ injury report, with the updated changes in injury status listed in bold.
After releasing Elijah Lee yesterday, the Lions have an open spot on the 53-man roster, and with newly acquired Everson Griffen not able to join the team until at least Monday, there is a chance the plan is for Coleman or Bryant to be activated for this weekend’s game.
“No decision at the current moment, no,” coach Matt Patricia said about Coleman possibly returning this week. “We’re just going to get through practice today and then try to evaluate and make sure – see where everybody’s at.”
The Lions typically make these roster transactions on Saturday — roughy 4:00 pm EST — so keep an eye out for that tomorrow.
| Player | Injury | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Designation |
| NONE |
No players are designated as out at this time.
| Player | Injury | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Designation |
| Taylor Decker | Shoulder | Not Listed | Limited Practice | No Practice | Questionable |
| Desmond Trufant | Hamstring | No Practice | Limited Practice | Limited Practice | Questionable |
| Darryl Roberts | Groin/Hip | Not Listed | Limited Practice | Limited Practice | Questionable |
| Jalen Reeves-Maybin | Non-Injury related | No Practice | No Practice | No Practice | Questionable |
Decker being listed as questionable is concerning, especially considering his practice trajectory is trending in the wrong direction and him being unable to practice on Friday. Decker will likely be re-evaluated on Saturday, but with the Lions hosting this week’s game, we likely won’t get an update on his status until Sunday during warmups.
If Decker is unable to play, expect Tyrell Crosby to shift from right tackle to left, Hal Vaitai from right guard to right tackle, and Joe Dahl to be promoted back into the starting lineup at guard.
Trufant getting back-to-back limited practices under his belt is encouraging, but he is by no means out of the woods yet, after being injured most of the season. If he plays, the Lions would likely prefer to work him in slowly with Amani Oruwariye and Jeff Okudah, but with questions surrounding both slot corners, they may not be able to wait.
In addition to Coleman still being on injured reserve, Roberts could also potentially miss this game. If he can play, it’s hard to say how much he will be able to handle as he is dealing with two separate injuries.
Reeves-Maybin missed the entire week with a non-COVID-19 personal issue. The level of concern surrounding his availability is unclear, but after the Lions released Lee yesterday, it’s fair to assume the Lions are hoping for him to return.
| Player | Injury | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Designation |
| Adrian Peterson | Abdomen | Not Listed | Limited Practice | Full Practice | No injury designation |
Peterson gave his abdomen a little rest on Wednesday but was back in full on Friday and is good to go for Sunday.
Updating the Detroit Lions Week 8 injury report after Thursday’s practice.
After a walk-through on Wednesday, the Detroit Lions (3-3) were back on the practice field on Thursday, preparing for their upcoming Week 8 matchup with the Indianapolis Colts (4-2).
Here’s a look at the Lions’ injury report, with the updated changes in injury status listed in bold.
| Player | Injury | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Designation |
| Jalen Reeves-Maybin | Non-Injury related | No Practice | No Practice |
Reeves-Maybin continues to miss practices this week with an undisclosed, non-COVID-19 situation. If he returns to practice on Friday, he will likely be available on Sunday.
| Player | Injury | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Designation |
| Adrian Peterson | Abdomen | Not Listed | Limited Practice | ||
| Taylor Decker | Shoulder | Not Listed | Limited Practice | ||
| Desmond Trufant | Hamstring | No Practice | Limited Practice | ||
| Darryl Roberts | Groin/Hip | Not Listed | Limited Practice |
Trufant practiced for the first time since he re-injured his hamstring in Week 4. A limited practice on Thursday gives him a real chance to play on Sunday, as long as he doesn’t suffer a setback. If he does return, expect him to be on a snap count and the corners group to see a rotation of players.
Peterson, Decker, and Roberts were not listed on the injury report on Wednesday, which is not unusual for a walk-through, but limited practices for a player who was not previously injured leaves a bit of ambiguity surrounding their status.
Were they injured in last weekend’s game and this is just the team managing/monitoring their situation? Or did they suffer an injury in today’s practice and that is what limited them?
Last week the Lions gave several veterans who were managing minor injuries rest on Wednesday and Thursday, then ramped them back up on Friday and they were all available on Sunday. Let’s hope this is just that situation repeating itself.
| Player | Injury | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Designation |
| NONE | Full Practice |
No players qualify for this section at this time.
Thursday's injury report for #INDvsDET. pic.twitter.com/jqXH0xwGQg
— Indianapolis Colts (@Colts) October 29, 2020
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.
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.
Answering the reader’s mailbag questions after Erik Schlitt’s Establishing the 53 series of articles at Lions Wire.
After the conclusion of my “Establishing the 53” series of articles, I posed a question to the #OnePride fan base on Twitter asking for any mailbag questions surrounding my conclusions.
I answered the three most asked questions in Part 1 of the Mailbag, but there are still plenty of great questions to answer. So let’s get started.
Note: questions may have been edited for clarity
Last season the Lions were one of the worst pass-rushing teams in the league. As Jeff Risdon pointed out in his review of the first quarter of last season, the Lions found early success only rushing three linemen, but that turned out to be more of a curse than a blessing, as the team still had confidence rushing three later in the season even when it stopped working.
While the Lions did go a bit heavier in their three rusher alignments last season, for the majority of snaps they did rush four, with the extra pass rusher being JACK linebacker Devon Kennard.
One of the advantages of using a 3-3-5 set is you can disguise where the fourth rusher is coming from, but last year it was obvious to offenses that it would almost always be Kennard because he lacked the range to drop into coverage, and they were prepared for him.
This lack of range ultimately led to Kennard’s release and was likely a major reason why the Lions targeted Jamie Collins to replace him in the starting lineup.
Collins’ range will pair nicely with skill sets of Jahlani Tavai and Christian Jones and it appears the Lions may be looking to expand Jarrad Davis’ role. The addition of Collins will give the coaches options on where to bring pressure from, and in turn, should disguise the Lions’ defensive intentions.
This should also afford the Lions the opportunity to incorporate more blitzes into their game plans, allowing them to bring a 4th and sometimes 5th rusher from unique angles.
They still have to execute on the field, but the flexibility in their linebacker group should give them more options than they have previously had.
As I eluded to in the previous question, I believe the Lions will be deploying their linebackers in several different spots, rotating players through positions, in order to confuse offenses. And while that means different players will line up at the MIKE, I agree Tavai could take on the traditional MIKE responsibilities.
One of the main jobs of the MIKE is to wear the “green dot” helmet and relay in the defensive play calls. During Davis’ first three seasons in the league that was his responsibility, but last year the Lions expanded that job to other players including Tavai.
The Lions typically allow their day two draft picks to slowly acclimate to the league during their rookie season — Tavai was a second-round pick in 2019 — and by year two they take on a much larger role. With Davis in a contract year, expect to see Tavai wear the green dot helmet quite a bit in 2020.
Typically the Lions only deploy a traditional SAM linebacker when they use four down linemen, which only happens against run-heavy offenses like the Minnesota Vikings.
That being said, the JACK linebacker spot looks primed to be adjusted and it’s possible that role will show more SAM-like qualities — especially if the Lions plan to disguise intentions.
As far as getting both Collins and Jones on the field at a time, I think there is plenty of opportunities to do so. Both players can play at the WILL, JACK, and SAM, and with the rotation levels the Lions use — last year four Lions’ linebackers saw over 52-percent of snaps — there is room for Collins, Jones, Tavai, and Davis to all get starter-level reps.
As far as Craig’s question, under the 2019 practice squad rules, Ragland, who has three years accrued experience, would not have been eligible for the practice squad, but under the new CBA, he is now eligible. This season the practice squad will include 12 players, of which two can have any level of NFL experience — which makes Ragland eligible.
Now Ragland may not want to take a practice squad role but if he comes up empty on the free-agent market, it may be in his best interest to return to Detroit as a potential “practice squad elevation” player due to his fit in the defense. The Lions could also entice him by offering him a higher salary to stick around on the practice squad in an emergency role.
To push Scott’s point further, Killebrew not only has $1 million in guaranteed salary but he also got $137,500 in a signing bonus. That means his cap hit is indeed $1.047 million in 2020 but it would increase to $1.375 million in dead cap if they release him — meaning it would actually cost the Lions $90,000 more to cut him than keep him.
So why did I have Killebrew on the outside of my 53-man projection?
Killebrew was one of the final few decisions I made when rounding out my projection, with it coming down to him or fellow special teams demon Jalen Reeves-Maybin. Both are dynamic pieces on special teams but are only emergency level defenders and I’m not sure the Lions will be able to keep multiple special teams only players.
Additionally, while his contract is very team-friendly, the additional $90,000 — or $1.375 million for that matter — is just drop in the bucket overall and I don’t believe it will deter the Lions from moving on if they need roster space.
There’s a real chance he finds his way onto the roster for a fifth season but he will likely have to make his money in the pre-season.
Examining the Detroit Lions linebackers and debating who and how many players they will keep on the 53-man roster.
It’s never too early to examine and speculate about the Detroit Lions roster. Currently, the Lions have 90-players on their roster, and come September, there will likely be some difficult decisions to make when determining their final 53-players.
Previously, in this series of articles at Lions Wire, we rounded out the running backs group, declared a winner in the fullback versus H-back competition, added an offensive weapon, narrowed down the offensive line, broke down the defensive line, and in this piece, look at the linebackers.
The Lions don’t use their linebackers like traditional 43 or 34 base players, instead opting to use traits from both schemes and asking their linebackers to be fluid in moving between positions.
In the Lions base defense, they deploy three linebackers on most downs. In the picture below, Jarrad Davis (40) is the MIKE, Christian Jones (52) is the WILL, and Devon Kennard (42) is the JACK.
The MIKE and WILL are off-the-ball players, with the JACK typically living at the line-of-scrimmage. While this is their base set, the Lions will lineup — and pass rush/cover — their linebackers in a variety of ways, as deception is part of the scheme.
For more detailed looks at how the linebackers are used in this scheme, please take a look at my film study: explaining how the Lions LB roles changed in 2019, and how adding Jamie Collins in free agency points to the linebacker positions being positionally fluid moving forward.
As mentioned in the Collins article, the adding of Collins and releasing of Kennard point to a shift in how the JACK linebacker spot is used. Instead of having a dedicated player at the position, the Lions appear to be leaning towards rotating off-the-ball linebackers and natural JACK linebackers here and in other roles.
In the last two drafts, the Lions have selected two JACK linebackers: Austin Bryant (in the fourth round in 2019) and Julian Okwara (third round in 2020) — both look like strong options for the final 53-man roster.
In addition to JACK, Bryant’s secondary position is as a down defensive end, while Okwara’s secondary position will likely be off-the-ball, with the goal of turning him into the next Jamie Collins. Both players were injured last season — Bryant with the Lions and Okwara at Notre Dame — and it points to them being rotational players in 2020 while they gain experience.
Erik’s take: With high developmental ceilings, both Okwara and Bryant should make the 53 with ease.
Anthony Pittman has also been a player primarily used at JACK, but at 225-pounds it’s hard to feel confident with him holding up there on a regular basis. He has also been cross-trained at the off-the-ball linebacker spots.
In college, both Jamie Collins and Christian Jones were pass-rushing linebackers and while they have transitioned to more off-the-ball roles in the NFL, they are also capable of rotating through the JACK position making them very valuable players in this scheme.
Jahlani Tavai and Reggie Ragland are also capable of rushing off the edge but they’re better suited as at the line-of-scrimmage run stuffers rather than pass rushers.
Jarrad Davis, Jalen Reeves-Maybin, Miles Killebrew, Jason Cabinda, Christian Sam, and Elijah Lee are more traditional off-the-ball linebackers and are not considered players who can play at the JACK spot unless they expand their games.
With no dedicated JACK, I am anticipating the Lions to use three off-the-ball linebackers as their base starting unit, with plenty of rotation through all spots. There are four primary contenders for those spots.
Collins — who saw 80.7-percent of snaps in New England last year — was the Lions’ big-ticket free agent this offseason and should be considered a lock for a starting role. His contract backs that up, as it averages ($10 million) nearly triple any other Lions linebacker’s salary. For example, even Collins’ lower cap hit of $6.3 million in 2020 is a stone’s throw away from total cap hits of Davis, Jones, and Tavai, which equals $7.4 million.
Last year Davis (57.3-percent of snaps) and Jones (53.3-percent) were the technical off-the-ball starters, but Tavai also saw starter levels snaps (52.2-percent). A similar rotation of these three in 2020 wouldn’t be overly surprising.
Erik’s take: Personally I think Tavai makes a leap in 2020 and earns a starting role, next to Collins and Davis, while Jones will come off the bench but still see a starters levels of snaps.
With Bryant, Okwara, Collins, Tavai, Davis, and Jones securing the top spots, that only leaves one or two spots for a reserve linebacker.
The first player that should be considered is Ragland. His ability to be positionally fluid is a big plus, but he has always been a part-time player in the NFL. With the Chiefs, he saw only 21.3-percent of their defensive snaps in 2019, 49.4-percent in 2018, and 29.3-percent in 2017. His $962,500 cap hit doubles down on the fact that the Lions only see him as a reserve player as well. There is a contingent of Lions fans who would rather see Ragland get a shot over Davis but I don’t believe that to be a realistic option at this stage.
His primary competition is special teams’ demon Reeves-Maybin. He is not nearly as good a fit in the scheme as Ragland, but Reeves-Maybin is among the elite special teams’ players in the league — PFF gave him a 90.0 special teams grade in 2019 — and that will go a very long way with this organization.
Killebrew is even more limited than Reeves-Maybin in what he can do on defense, but he is also among the best special teams players on the roster. It’s also worth noting that his new contract carries a $1.05 million cap hit in 2020, which is slightly higher than both Ragland and Reeves-Maybin ($978,273). Elijah Lee has similar PFF special teams grades to Killebrew and will also be competition for this role.
Like Ragland, Cabinda and Sam are great scheme fits but offer more on special teams. They will need to take big strides in their game to make the 53, but the practice squad is a likely landing for at least one of them.
Erik’s take: With defensive positions at a premium, reserves need to play multiple roles, including special teams, so give me Reeves-Maybin as my top option in this group.
With Collins, Tavai, Davis, Jones, and Okwara rotating through three spots, along with Bryant and Reeves-Maybin holding down key roles, the Lions linebacker corps is improved from last season.
Ragland will likely be one of the final cuts, but as long as Davis is on the roster, Ragland will likely get pushed off it. Killebrew will also be a difficult cut, but he is somewhat redundant with safety Jayron Kearse, who seems like a safe bet for the 53. Additionally, expect one or two from the linebacker group to be kept on the practice squad for developmental purposes.
New additions in free agency and the draft have pushed several Lions who played big roles in 2019 onto the roster bubble
The welcomed influx of new talent into the Lions’ den means some established players will have to find a new NFL place to rest their helmets. Several players who were starters or played significant roles for Detroit in 2019 are now precariously on the team’s roster bubble after the draft, free agency and UDFA signings.
The team has already said goodbye to some, notably free agents Graham Glasgow, Sam Martin, A’Shawn Robinson. The Lions also dumped veterans like Rick Wagner and Damon “Snacks” Harrison. Which recognizable Lions from 2019 could be next?
The team’s primary return specialist for the last three seasons is more in danger because he’s never developed into an NFL-caliber player as a cornerback, his regular position. After a terrible start to 2019, Agnew bounced back with some solid games at the end of the season. His punt return TD against Denver was the first glimpse of the dynamic All-Pro returner Agnew was as a rookie in 2017 since that first year.
With no role on defense and facing viable challenges for his return gig from sixth-rounder Jason Huntley and depth receiver Marvin Hall, Agnew will have to quickly prove he’s worthy of the roster spot.
Atkins isn’t the most recognizable name, but the defensive tackle did start six games last season. He logged 20 total tackles in 12 games, double what Mike Daniels contributed in his woebegone year. His 40 percent of total snaps at nose tackle in 2019 weren’t impressive enough to keep him safe.
The Lions signed Danny Shelton to be the new starter. Fifth-round pick John Penisini is a younger, more versatile option as a reserve.
Detroit’s primary starting left guard in 2019 has seen several shots across his roster bow this offseason. The team brought back nondescript veterans Kenny Wiggins and Oday Aboushi, signed former first-rounder Josh Garnett, and then drafted Joshua Jackson in the third round and Logan Stenberg in the fourth.
If the team believed in Dahl, they have a funny way of showing it by drafting two players at his exact position and also seeing the need to re-sign underwhelming vets. Even if the coaching staff opts to continue with the rotational nature at guard, Dahl appears to be in trouble.
Johnson played well as a rookie running back. The sixth-rounder from Penn State led the Lions with a 4.3 yards per carry average (min. 50 carries) and also caught 24 passes on 31 targets. He played well enough to prove he’s an NFL RB.
Yet the Lions drafted Jason Huntley as a direct challenger to Johnson in the role of speed/receiving back. GM Bob Quinn even said so in his post-draft press conference. It’s hard to see the Lions keeping both in a suddenly crowded backfield unless one of them also wins the return specialist gig.
Killebrew has done little outside of contributing solid work on special teams in his four seasons in Detroit. He’s played just 87 total snaps on defense the last two years despite being healthy.
Signing Jayron Kearse as a free agent and inking some promising undrafted players who can fill his reserve safety role might be the end of Killebrew’s time in Detroit.
The team’s fourth-round pick in 2017 is coming off his most impactful season. Reeves-Maybin started three games at linebacker and recorded a career-high 37 tackles. But his future is in peril.
Reeves-Maybin is no higher than fifth on the LB depth chart behind Jamie Collins, Jarrad Davis, Christian Jones and Jahlani Tavai. With the depth and talent bumped up at safety, there figures to be less room for extra linebackers in what appears to be a more firm 4-man front in new coordinator Cory Undlin’s defense. Newcomer Reggie Ragland better fits what coach Matt Patricia wants from his LBs in a reserve role, too.
After adding Reggie Ragland and Elijah Lee, the Detroit Lions have 11 LBs on the roster. Here’s how they sort out.
After adding Reggie Ragland from the Super Bowl champion Chiefs and Elijah Lee from the team Kansas City bested, the 49ers, the Lions can now deploy a defense comprised entirely of linebackers. With 11 linebackers currently on the roster, Detroit could have a backer at every single spot.
They won’t, of course, though coach Matt Patricia might be tempted to trot out a 2-8-1 formation just for the chaos factor. But there is certainly a deep mix of LBs to sort through.
The current list of LBs on the Lions roster:
Collins will start at one spot, that is certain. The Lions didn’t pay him $30 million to defect from New England and then not play a significant role. He’s experienced at playing the SAM (strongside) role behind a 4-man front, which the Lions seem to be trending to play more often under new defensive coordinator Cory Undlin.
Tavai projects as the likely starter at middle LB, a role he grew in as a rookie in 2019. The Lions run defense did improve when he took over the primary ILB spot.
Jones and Davis now seem to occupy the weakside role, or WILL. If the defense deploys four LBs, they could both be on the field. Jones offers more versatility and is a more reliable all-around player, while Davis should now be able to play in more of a specialist role. That could be a boon for his struggling career.
Davis played his best football in 2018 as a pass-rushing LB behind DT Damon Harrison. With Danny Shelton now manning the nose, Davis could get more looks in that role as a rusher or an assignment-specific nickel backer. Outside of Collins, Davis remains the most athletic and fastest LB on the roster.
Ragland has become an effective run-stuffing ILB in the Chiefs’ version of a 4-man front. His coverage skills are weaker than Tavai, Jones or Collins (who excels in covering TEs). I expect to see him in place of Davis or Jones in short-yardage situations or when the opposing team uses a fullback or two-TE set.
Reeves-Maybin offers potential in nickel packages or 4-LB sets. Lee is the same sort of player, so they are likely dueling for the same roster spot. Lee played well on special teams in San Francisco and that could give him a leg up.
The rest are unlikely to have any role beyond special teams. Longa and Cabinda could be competing for the same backup MLB/ILB role, but the team may opt to not carry than many LBs. Pittman should stick on the practice squad, where he spent his entire rookie season before making his debut in Week 17. Sam is only on a reserve/future contract and might never don a Lions uniform, his Patriots heritage be damned.
It seems extremely unlikely the Lions will draft any linebackers with any reasonable expectation of making the active roster in 2020. It doesn’t rule out a developmental talent on Day 3, but anything more than that would appear to be a redundant case of draft resource wastefulness.
While I don’t expect it to happen, the possibility of Jarrad Davis being traded does at least merit consideration. His inexpensive salary means there is no real point in cutting the 2017 first-rounder. Davis is well-respected in the locker room and deserves a chance to try and salvage his Lions career in Undlin’s new defense. His trade value would appear to be quite low.
Jones signed a two-year contract extension in November, an indication of some level of commitment. It’s a team-friendly contract if they opt to remove Jones, who did not play well in 2019, before the season. Dumping the veteran would eat just under $2.2 million in cap room in 2020 and about $1.1 million in 2021.
Examining how agreeing to terms with hybrid linebacker Jamie Collins impacts the Detroit Lions roster.
The 2020 tampering period is just over a day old and the Detroit Lions have already agreed to terms with several players, including hybrid linebacker Jamie Collins.
Early predictions for where Collins will play in the Lions scheme are all over the map. And for good reason. Of the game film I studied when trying to ascertain where Collins would play, I arrived at one answer — everywhere.
Collins played for the New England Patriots last season, and because their scheme is as close to the Lions as there is in the NFL, it was easy to do an apples-to-apples comparison of how he would be used in Detroit.
In 2019, Collins lined up at all four of the Patriots linebacker spots, even shifting over the slot on occasion. In the games that I watched, he rarely lined up at the same position on back-to-back plays, illustrating his true versatility.
With the addition of Jamie Collins, the Lions add one of the most versatile linebackers in the NFL —
Collins was 1 of 4 players with at least 20% of snaps aligned at EDGE, DT & Linebacker last season.
Others: Dont'a Hightower (NE), Lorenzo Alexander (BUF), Sam Eguavoen (MIA) https://t.co/eBRFZQdrTq
— Next Gen Stats (@NextGenStats) March 17, 2020
Collins is able to play at all these spots for three major reasons. He has a freaky level of athleticism, can effectively rush the passer, and is one of the better coverage linebackers in the NFL. This combination of skills makes him a unique player and one that fits the Lions like a glove.
Like in New England last season, I don’t expect Collins to stay put at any one position, and honestly, that will complement the way the other Lions linebackers are trending as well.
After the conclusion of the 2019 season, I did a film study, examining how the Lions linebacker roles were changing. The results showed that while Jarrad Davis and Devon Kennard — who was released yesterday — held static roles, Jahlani Tavai and Christian Jones’ roles were more fluid.
Now the Lions have three fluid linebackers all signed to multi-year contracts. Collins just signed a three-year deal, Tavai’s rookie contract expires in 2022 and Jones got a mid-year extension that expires in 2021.
Meanwhile, the static off-the-ball linebackers that remain, Davis and Jalen Reeves-Maybin, are in the final year of their contracts. Reeves-Maybin has consistently made the final roster based on his special teams ability, while Davis began to expand his duties to the WILL position in the latter parts of the season, something he may need to do more moving forward.
If they do, it will surely be a player who is positionally fluid so that they can mesh with the other linebackers currently on the roster.
The most obvious name remaining in free agency is Kamalei Correa, formerly of the Tennessee Titans, who was directly coached by new Lions’ linebacker coach Tyrone McKenzie over the last two seasons. Correa has experience playing the JACK linebacker role, can rush the passer and drop into coverage. He has been a career rotational player, but on the Lions roster, that’s what they likely need right now.
If the Lions look to the draft, there are four top-100 players they are surely watching. Zach Baun (Wisconsin) is an off-the-ball linebacker who has shown a knack for rushing the passer. Josh Uche (Michigan) is lightning quick off the edge and can drop into coverage better than most JACK linebackers. Bradlee Anae (Utah) is primarily a pass rusher but has shown the ability to win from his feet. While Curtis Weaver (Boise State), who at 6-63, 265-pounds, is physically as close to a Dont’a Hightower clone as you will find. Weaver is a junior, but Baun, Uche, Anae were all on the North roster at the Senior Bowl and were coached by the Lions staff.
Adding any one of these players would give the Lions front a significant boost in 2020, even if they are in a limited role to begin the season.
