Lions divisional round mailbag: Which free agents are coming back?
I said last week that if the Detroit Lions kept going, this mailbag would stay open and the questions would continue to get answers. It's time for the divisional round of the Lions mailbag. The Lions have 27 free agents after this season. 18 of them are unrestricted free agents. I think the Lions bring […]
I said last week that if the Detroit Lions kept going, this mailbag would stay open and the questions would continue to get answers. It's time for the divisional round of the Lions mailbag.
The Lions have 27 free agents after this season. 18 of them are unrestricted free agents. I think the Lions bring back all the restricted and exclusive rights guys. That's guys like Jerry Jacobs and James Houston.
In terms of unrestricted guys, I think the Lions bring back a handful. C.J. Gardner-Johnson, Jalen Reeves-Maybin, Josh Reynolds and Graham Glasgow are all guys the Lions should be prioritizing.
I don't think the Lions feel that Gilmore is ready to hit the field during the regular season just yet. But they clearly see a future with him and that's he has been on the Lions 53-man roster all season where they can keep him safe and not have to worry about him getting poached. 2024 seems like it could be a big year for him. I'm sure he'll see more of the field then.
Here's the thing on Goff. Everyone is sure that he's horrible against the blitz. That's just not the case. Sure, he struggles under pressure, but there's not a quarterback in the league that doesn't. Only one quarterback has thrown more touchdowns against the blitz this year and that's Brock Purdy with 15. Goff has thrown 13. Goff has also completed the second most passes in the NFL against the blitz.
The biggest thing that's going to help Goff is that he has his fully healthy offensive line out there with him. Here's what he's done in the eight game that he's had that group this season:
196-281 for 2,395 yards, 18 touchdowns and 3 turnovers. He completed 69.7% his passes and had a rating of 111.9 in those games. The Lions went 7-1 in those games.
I have to go with Goff. Jordan Love has played great in the past few weeks, Brock Purdy has been good this season and Baker Mayfield has had a nice resurgence. Goff has been good for the last couple years and has the experience that these guys don't have. He's also the only quarterback left, besides Mahomes, that's been to the Super Bowl before. That pushes him ahead. But it's pretty close.
Malcolm Rodriguez had such a great start and such a great story last year that it was easy to ignore that he hit the rookie wall in the second half of the season. The Lions also just got so much better at linebacker over the offseason that someone had to take a backseat and Rodriguez is that someone. That doesn't mean it's over for him. The Lions still lie the guy and that's why they tried him in different areas this season. He helped out on special teams and he even played full back for a few games.
Rodriguez will stick around and will continue to get his shots. He just needs to work his way back up the depth chart again.
The Lions offense is really good, but I don't think it's fully done yet. They could use a big bodied X receiver that can go up and high point the ball. They haven't had that in a while. I think an extra tight end is something the Lions should look into.
Depending on what happens with Jonah Jackson, the Lions could look to find themselves another guard this offseason. Defensively they need to find some interior help on the line to help Alim McNeill.
Here's the thing. I think this is a totally normal human reaction. Think about when you were high school and a boy or a girl came back from summer break and someone had a total glow up and you didn't. You probably felt pretty salty about that. It's the same thing here. The Lions have been the laughing stock of the league and now people can't laugh at them anymore and they hate that. There's no same old Lions anymore.
The other thing is that the Lions beat their team. That's just another totally human response. Lions fans did the same thing with the Cowboys for a few weeks. Nobody likes to lose.
Here's the thing, the Bucs have something to prove just like the Lions do. That can really drive a team. At the end of the day, who's drive is going to show through more?
Other than that, the Bucs have a tremendous pass rush that put a ton of pressure on Jalen Hurts in wild card round. The Lions offensive line needs to be on their game in this one.
Lions’ succession plan: Who could replace Johnson and Glenn?
The days are numbered for the Detroit Lions and their current coordinators. Both guys are here as long as the Lions remain in the playoffs, but after that, it could be days until they're headed to their next team. The biggest question I've been receiving for much of the year is "who replaces these guys?" […]
