Lions fans probably aren’t going to get the cornerback trade they want, and the reason is pretty simple
Detroit still needs help badly, but the pool of realistic starting cornerbacks is shrinking fast. Riq Woolen may be the best attainable swing left — and the fallback could look a lot more like Donte Jackson.
The NFL trade deadline is getting closer, and the closer it gets, the more I feel like Detroit Lions fans aren’t going to get what they want at cornerback this year.
Let me be clear about what I’m saying here. Do I think the Lions will trade for a cornerback? I do. At some point, I think they’ll make a move. Is it going to be the move you want? Probably not.
The most likely outcome is Detroit landing a veteran. I keep coming back to Chargers cornerback Donte Jackson. That’s the type of deal I think Lions general manager Brad Holmes makes: an older cornerback who costs a sixth- or seventh-round pick, something along those lines.
I know the first reaction. Holmes is cheap. He’s shopping in the bargain basement. I understand that thought. Holmes has never really made a blockbuster trade. The third-round pick for Carlton Davis was a big one, but the Lions only got one year out of it.
Nobody is trading a cornerback of value
Here’s the thing. I know some of you will think I’m shilling for the Lions and for Holmes. But this just isn’t the year. Nobody is going to trade a cornerback of value this season.
Joey Porter was it. That was the trade you had to make. The Cowboys ponied up the most, they got it done, and the Lions didn’t. That was the one real shot.
The market keeps reminding me of that. On Thursday, The Athletic put out a list of the top 50 players who could be traded around the league. You don’t get to a cornerback until No. 18, and it’s Amik Robertson, who played for the Lions last year.
Lions fans have done a breakneck 180 on Robertson. Last year, a lot of them couldn’t stand him and wanted him gone. Now he’s playing good football for the Commanders, and suddenly Detroit shouldn’t have let him walk out the door. It’s been strange revisionist history. Either way, I don’t think Washington trades him, and I’m not sure why he’s on the list.
At No. 26, it’s Riq Woolen, who we’ve talked about a lot. That would be a good trade if the Lions could pull it off. I still think the price might be a little too high. But if Detroit can get a decent deal done, it’s worth it. Outside of Porter, Woolen might be the only other real shot. It’s not a huge trade, but it’s a good one.
After that, it’s Jackson and Nahshon Wright, who is OK, I guess. That’s the list. Those are the cornerbacks.
The names Lions fans want aren’t available
Zyon McCollum isn’t on the list. I know a lot of Lions fans like him, and I’ve been high on that possibility myself. But when we had Evan Winter, our Buccaneers beat writer, on our video show, even he said there’s no way it happens. Tampa Bay just signed McCollum to a big deal, he’s young, and he’s still playing good football. You can understand why the Bucs want to keep him, even with things falling apart there.
I bring up other ideas all the time, like Jahdae Barron from the Broncos. These are moves I’d make if I were a GM, and moves I think are possible. But teams aren’t trading players unless the return is unbelievable. At this point, I’m not sure anyone moves a good cornerback even then.
Look around the league. A lot of the best cornerbacks happen to play for winning teams, which takes them off the board. I know you want Devon Witherspoon and Christian Gonzalez. The Seahawks and Patriots aren’t trading those guys.
It’s not going to be Derek Stingley Jr. either. Houston isn’t playing well, but he’s an elite cornerback. Why would the Texans trade him? Quinyon Mitchell is a pillar player for the Eagles, even with Philadelphia falling apart. The same goes for Cooper DeJean.
Plenty of Lions fans bring up Kamari Lassiter, and I wrote a little about that idea too. It’s a shot you could take. But that was me thinking out loud because Houston has struggled and Lassiter is having an up-and-down year. I don’t think the Texans actually want to move him.
Denzel Ward is another popular name. But Ward has said several times he wants to stay in Ohio. He played at Ohio State, grew up in Ohio, and has spent his entire career with the Browns. Cleveland is having a good season, and I can’t see it wanting to move him. The same logic applies to D.J. Turner in Cincinnati. Why would the Bengals do that?
What Lions fans should expect
All of that leads me to believe the Lions wind up with somebody who can start. It’s probably an older player, it isn’t who you want, and you’re going to blame Holmes for it.
To some degree, I agree with that thought. But free agency wasn’t good for cornerbacks this year. Even if it had been, the Lions didn’t know at the start of March that the Terrion Arnold situation would end the way it did. Hindsight is 20/20. It doesn’t work that way.
Detroit is set up in a bad way at a position nobody wants to trade. Porter was the one shot, and it didn’t work out. There will be some intriguing candidates in free agency next year, but for now, the Lions may be stuck.
If they can’t get Woolen, the top realistic option, they’ll probably land someone like Jackson. He’s a capable starter who has started for years. He’s also pushing 31, so it’s a one-year rental. He helps you this season, and that’s that.
If you’re hoping for a blockbuster, it’s not happening. The level below a blockbuster probably isn’t either. But maybe that third tier is in play. It’s not Blockbuster. It’s not Hollywood Video. A Woolen deal could be a Family Video trade. And Family Video was a good chain. They were around for a long time.
We’ll see what happens.
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