The Detroit Lions wrapped up the 2021 season with a 5-11 record, which put them in last place in the NFC North. After firing head coach Matt Patricia and general manager Bob Quinn midseason, the latest headline news coming out of Detroit is the imminent departure of longtime quarterback Matthew Stafford.
Detroit will likely address the void left by Stafford in the upcoming draft. While Trevor Lawrence isn't happening, the Lions could find themselves in position to draft Ohio State's Justin Fields or BYU's Zach Wilson.
Detroit currently has just $1,997,378 in cap space, but Stafford's situation looms over the entire operation. With Patricia being replaced by Dan Campbell as head coach and Brad Holmes in place as the new general manager, the Lions will undoubtedly take on a new identity and have new priorities heading into free agency. Gone are the days of trying to be New England Patriots 2.0.
Here are some options for the Detroit Lions in free agency.
3. Curtis Samuel
There is a real chance that the Lions have a new look for their receiver corps next season due to the pending free agents on the roster. Wideouts Kenny Golladay, Marvin Jones Jr., Danny Amendola, Mohamed Sanu, and Jamal Agnew are all hitting free agency. Ideally, they re-sign the first three names on that list.
Golladay is one of the best young receivers in the league. He can make tough catches and is a deadly deep threat whenever he is on the field. However, Golladay wasn't able to stay on the field for much of this season due to injuries.
Golladay is still worth a hefty contract, though. The biggest hindrance in re-signing him is Detroit's cap space. The Lions could opt to slap Golladay with the franchise tag.
Jones and Amendola had productive seasons. The former played in 16 games and almost had 1,000 receiving yards, while the latter had 602 yards. The 30-year-old Jones may opt to test the market. Amendola is getting up there at age 35 and has a lot of miles on him with all those deep playoff runs with the Patriots.
With some receivers potentially on the way out, the Lions could turn to Curtis Samuel. The Carolina Panthers speedster had 851 receiving yards and 200 rushing yards on 41 attempts last season. Samuel is a versatile weapon for the next quarterback. While not a true No. 1 option, he is a tough and physical receiver who operates well in the slot.
If Detroit wants a receiver with the potential to be the primary target, JuJu Smith-Schuster and Corey Davis are options, but this would cost much more.
2. Jayon Brown
The Lions had a porous defense last season. They conceded the most number of total yards and finished in the bottom five in both total passing and rushing yards allowed.
The 25-year-old Brown is a 6-foot, 226-pound linebacker for the Tennessee Titans. He would add a different dimension to the defense with his pass coverage skills. He is especially good in zone coverage formations, although he could use some work in the run game. Brown defended eight passes last season and even got an interception. He had a total of 72 tackles.
Unfortunately, Brown's season was cut short with an elbow injury. This may bring down his asking price. The Titans have many free agents of their own, so there is a possibility Brown leaves.
1. Ronald Darby
The Lions don't necessarily need a cornerback since they have a young pairing in Jeff Okudah and Amani Oruwariye. However, some of Detroit's most expensive contracts are for cornerbacks Justin Coleman and Desmond Trufant. The Lions may opt to move on from these two.
A possible replacement is Darby. Admittedly, he has an injury history, but he got to play 16 games last season with the Washington Football Team. While he is not a major defensive playmaker in terms of turnovers, he did have 16 passes defended and a total of 54 tackles this season.
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