Why The Lions SLOW Start To NFL Free Agency Is NOT An Issue...

AtoZ Sports

Mike Payton talks about the slow start for the Detroit Lions in NFL free agency, and why everyone needs to calm down about it.

Transcript

00:00The Detroit Lions have not done a whole lot during free agency and you need to stop freaking out about it

00:08Let's talk about

00:13Hi Mike Payne from a disease sports Detroit and today we're gonna talk about why you gotta just calm down on the Lions free agency

00:19Stuff it's been a very slow process for the Lions. They've watched, you know Lions fans have watched the Bears and the Vikings

00:27Seemingly load up with a lot of kind of older players and and you know, the Bears did a really good job

00:34Redoing their offensive line and got a couple of players

00:37The Vikings got Jonathan Allen and you know

00:40And really that's gonna help them a lot and the Lions have done a few things for starters. They lost

00:47Carlton Davis to the New England Patriots to a huge

00:5160 million dollar deal. I don't think anybody, you know

00:54We knew that Carlton was gonna get paid, but it was probably more in that

00:5950 range he got 60 20 million a year ish, you know when you break it down, it's more like

01:0617-5 to 18, but it's still quite a bit a lot more than the Lions probably wanted to pay and then they turned around and

01:13kind of corner of

01:15Equal or maybe even greater value in DJ Reed

01:18For significantly less for 48 million dollars. That was a huge signing

01:23I mean, that's a big big deal and then to add on to that

01:27They they go out and they get a good nose tackle and Roy Lopez somebody who could potentially be a starter for this team

01:34Going forward at some point when the Lions move on from DJ reader whether that's this year

01:40If he's like a cap casualty, which I don't really think that's gonna happen

01:44Or next year when he's no longer under contract with the Lions and then Grant Stewart is a really good linebacker

01:52Special teams guy is

01:54Your replacement for Jalen Reeves may have been something they really need the lines care about special team is an awful lot

02:00He's also somebody who could come in and and help out on defense as well

02:04Like that's a great pickup for this team and they've done all this

02:09While maintaining some of their players like getting Levi on Zarique back. That was huge at a huge discount. I

02:16mean, I know

02:18That people

02:20look at the way that the Lions season ended against Washington commanders, and they think well, geez, you know this defense really bad and

02:29You know, it's interesting because at that same time a lot of people were saying well, you know

02:33They're this bad because of the injuries

02:36But then all of a sudden those that excuse went away and it became while the Lions defense was always bad

02:41I mean you personally sitting here watching me you might not feel that way, but I could tell you on Twitter

02:47I could tell you on Facebook. I could tell you a blue sky on threads, whatever

02:51Social media you want to talk about there is a large amount of people who feel as though the Lions defense was really bad

02:58And that's just not the case

03:00Going into week 11 even without Aiden Hutchinson. This was a top-five defense in DVO a this was one of the best defenses in

03:07the entire NFL

03:08Then in succession they lost Alex Anzalone. They lost a Lee McNeil. They lost Carlton Davis

03:14They lost a whole bunch of backup players

03:16they had to you know, you remember the day after Thanksgiving when they had to go and poach a bunch of guys off of

03:22Practice squads just to make things work and even through all of that

03:26The Lions were still the team that allowed the second fewest passing touchdowns in the NFL

03:32This is a good defense and and it will continue to be a good defense once everybody's healthy and everybody's on the field

03:39You know Mike Clay from ESPN a really good analytics guy brought up this week

03:43He put together his his grades and for each position on each team and how that

03:50Cumulatively worked and and how each team would rank both offensively and defensively

03:55the Lions

03:56Came in at fifth on defense and that was after the moves that had been made on the first two days

04:03I mean think about that

04:05That's with the moves that have been made by the Bears the Vikings

04:10Everybody and the Lions are still a top-five defense

04:14Ranked higher than the Bears and the Vikings and the Packers, obviously

04:19so

04:20the analytic world the sports world does just does not see the Lions defense like

04:26Turns out a lot of Lions fans do this is going to be a very good group

04:31Could they use somebody else on the edge? Yeah, I think you know

04:34That would be great to have somebody doesn't need to be a superstar

04:37Does it need to be a 30 million dollar a year guy?

04:40No as cool as that would be to have Trey Hendrickson or something like that here

04:45I think the Lions would be just fine with somebody like Aziz. Oh, you Laurie on two-year ten million dollar deal

04:51Guy that gets seven to ten sacks a year like that's that's great. That's all this team needs plus

04:57You draft a rookie you get a good edge rusher like a Shamar Stewart or an ex-scout in there

05:03You know any one of these guys James Pierce that are in the draft

05:07and you're good to go and that allows you to go ahead and

05:11Pay some of these guys who are gonna be getting contracts here pretty soon Kirby Joseph Aiden Hutchinson

05:17Jameer Gibbs Sam LaPorta Brian branch Jack Campbell all these guys

05:21The bill is coming due on them very soon. Jameson Williams totally forgot to put him in there

05:27So while you may be upset that the Lions are not going out there and spending money on names that you know

05:34They're still getting it done

05:36This is still a very good team

05:39Do not freak out

05:42We'll see you next time

Category

Transcript

Recommended