The Detroit Lions have already made a bunch of free agent acquisitions, and they might not be done yet. The Lions will host cornerback Rashaan Melvin on a visit Wednesday, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network.
Melvin signed a one-year, $5.5 million deal with the Oakland Raiders, and things didn't go as planned. He was supposed to be a starter for the Raiders, and he did start seven games for Oakland. But his play wasn't up to his standards, and he was quickly benched by Jon Gruden.
Melvin came to the Raiders from the Colts, where he had spent the previous two seasons. Melvin was very solid in Indianapolis, so his decline was a bit of a surprise. In just 10 games for Indy in 2017, he had three interceptions and 13 passes defended, and is capable of playing at a very high level at times.
The whole defense was a mess in Oakland last year, so it's possible his decline wasn't entirely his fault. Coming off a down year he could probably be had for pretty cheap, so the potential interest makes some sense for the Lions, who are looking to rebuild their defense under Matt Patricia.
The Northern Illinois product originally entered the league with the Buccaneers as an undrafted free agent back in 2013. He then bounced around, spending time in Miami, Baltimore, and New England before settling in with the Colts. Still only 29, Melvin has plenty of time to get things turned around once again.
Pro Football Focus graded him as the 17th-best cornerback in the league in 2017, and if he can get back to that level of play he'd be a very nice pickup.
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