| The Detroit News
The Detroit Lions have one game remaining, and for many players on the roster, it will be the final time they suit up in the Honolulu blue and silver. With a new general manager and coach on the way, there’s inevitably going to be more roster turnover than usual.
The Lions have more than 20 players scheduled to be free agents, including 18 who will be unrestricted. Some of the those players merit being brought back, regardless of scheme, while others, not so much.
Below, we’ve ranked Detroit’s pending free agents, prior to them hitting the open market in March.
1. Wide receiver Kenny Golladay
It has been a lost season for Golladay. Safely assuming he doesn’t play this week, he will have been limited to five games by hamstring and hip injuries. Healthy, the 27-year-old remains a top-15 receiver in the league.
Decisions on whether to utilize the franchise tag or pay market rate for a long-term deal will be among the biggest the next GM faces early in his tenure. The Lions severely lack receiving options under contract, and while this looks to be a deep draft class at the position, a bird in hand remains worth more than two in the bush.
2. Defensive end Romeo Okwara
Okwara has set himself up for a hefty pay raise with a breakout season. Not only does he have a career-high nine sacks, he’s been one of the most productive edge rushers at generating pressure this season, affecting the quarterback on nearly 50 other snaps.
At 25 years old, he’s just entering his prime, while providing the versatility to play on either side of the line. He’s even capable of sliding inside and disrupting from the interior in obvious passing situations.
3. Defensive end Everson Griffen
Griffen doesn’t have Okwara’s youth on his side, but he’s still a pass-rushing force at 33 years old. On a short-term extension, he can be a bridge to the future for Detroit’s defensive front. In six games since being acquired in a trade from Dallas, he’s provided 3.5 sacks, four additional QB hits and five batted passes.
And while it’s difficult to measure, Griffen also plays with an emotional passion the Lions have otherwise lacked on defense. You can never have enough heart.
4. Wide receiver Marvin Jones
Jones has given the Lions the best five years of his career, averaging 56 catches, 823 yards and nearly seven touchdowns during that stretch. Soon to be 31 years old, his best days are probably behind him, and durability likely will be an issue for the remainder of his career, but there’s still some juice in the tank for a couple more productive seasons.
Offering anything more than a three-year deal, with an easy out after two, would be a mistake. But as noted above, the Lions will need receivers for 2021, and if Matthew Stafford will be sticking around beyond this season, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to maintain some level of continuity.
5. Kicker Matt Prater
Prater’s accuracy dipped significantly this past season, but his leg strength seemed unaffected at age 36. Can we simply chalk up this year as an anomaly? That will be up to the decision-makers, but we all remember what happened the last time the Lions tried to move on from a quality kicker for a cheaper option.
6. Return man Jamal Agnew
Similarly, it had been quite some time since the Lions rostered a dynamic return man of Agnew’s caliber. Teams often kick it away from him, limiting his value, but he’s still managed to pace the NFL in punt return average in 2020 after his touchdown in Week 16. He’s top-10 in kickoff average, as well.
Since the Lions drafted Agnew, he’s found the end zone five times, more than any return man during that stretch. He’s also decent on kick coverage, which is an added bonus. He didn’t work out as a cornerback and might not amount to much as a receiver, but that ceiling remains to be seen.
7. Safety Duron Harmon
If we’re being frank, Harmon has been a disappointment since coming over in a trade from New England. Pacing the Lions with more than 1,000 defensive snaps, he’s been inconsistent in his role as a deep safety, missing multiple tackles and blowing multiple coverage assignments in recent weeks.
His resume as a late-game playmaker likely will earn him a decent pay day, but the Lions can probably find better, whether in free agency or the draft.
8. Safety Miles Killebrew
At this stage in his career, Killebrew is exclusively a special teamer. He’s been on the field fewer than 100 defensive snaps the past three seasons, with almost all of them coming in 2019. But on special teams, he’s playing more than 80% of those snaps, tallying 27 tackles on kickoff and punt coverage the past two seasons. No one has more in the NFL during that stretch.
9. Linebacker Jarrad Davis
As a first-round pick, Davis has unquestionably been a bust. He seemed to have some positive momentum through two seasons, but lost it all in 2019 while battling a nagging ankle injury. In 2020, his playing time was significantly slashed, from an every-down defender to under 30% of snaps.
There’s still some untapped potential there. He’s shown he can be a real weapon as an off-ball blitzer, which might carry more value in a different defensive scheme. And you won’t find many players with a better football character than Davis, who will do whatever is asked of him, no questions, no complaints.
10. Linebacker Reggie Ragland
Ragland was probably the biggest beneficiary to Davis’ reduced playing time and the newcomer has been decent as he’s gotten comfortable with his role within the scheme. His 20 quarterback pressures are second only to Okwara and Ragland rarely misses a tackle.
Additionally, he’s a glue guy in the locker room who has a deep understanding of what it takes to win. He’s been a champion at every level, earning a Super Bowl ring in Kansas City before coming to Detroit.
11. Wide receiver Mohamed Sanu
It was a weird year for Sanu, who started with the Patriots, had a pitstop in San Francisco, landed on Detroit’s practice squad before getting a promotion to the active roster late last month.
The accomplished veteran has caught at least two passes the past five games and has the potential to be a bigger part of the offense with an offseason to build chemistry with Stafford.
12. Guard Oday Aboushi
A career journeyman, Aboushi ended up starting seven games (so far) for the Lions this season as the injuries piled up across the line. In those contests, he performed better than outside observers expected. Bringing him back as depth wouldn’t be a bad idea, especially if the Lions don’t feel comfortable with Logan Stenberg being that guy in 2021.
13. Linebacker Jalen Reeves-Maybin
Like Killebrew, Reeves-Maybin largely has been limited to special teams much of his career with the Lions. He’s certainly done well in that department, racking up 19 tackles the past two years.
As a defender, his size made him a poor scheme fit for former coach Matt Patricia, but Reeves-Maybin’s speed-and-space skill set, with plus instincts, could conceivably be utilized better in a different setup.
14. Wide receiver Danny Amendola
At 35 years old, Amendola continues to be a serviceable slot receiver. He missed a couple of games with a hip injury in the middle of this season, but has a shot to finish the year with 50 catches, while averaging more yards per reception (13.2) than any other time in his 12-year career.
Work ethic and attitude will never be an issue with Amendola. He takes his profession seriously and winning is important to him.
15. Long snapper Don Muhlbach
Old reliable, Muhlbach did nothing in 2020 to suggests it’s time for the Lions to move on. The one difference going into this offseason compared to others is the team has a younger, cheaper option in the fold with Steven Wirtel.
16. Running back Adrian Peterson
Seeing Peterson in a Lions uniform was something few could have ever expected when he was terrorizing the team as a member of the Vikings, but this version was an obvious shell of that version. After a decent start to the season, he was brutal through the middle portion of the year before giving way to rookie D’Andre Swift.
Peterson’s impact as a mentor to Swift will end up being his most important contribution in Detroit, but there’s almost no reason to bring the future Hall of Famer back in 2021. There undoubtedly will be a cheaper, younger option who can complement Swift going forward.
17. Cornerback Darryl Roberts
The Lions brought in Roberts as versatile depth this past offseason, and while he did line up at a number of spots, he wasn’t particularly effective anywhere on the field. On throws where he’s been targeted, he’s allowed a passer rating of 116.5.
18. Cornerback Tony McRae
McRae is a solid special teamer who wasn’t able to translate his playmaking in training camp into a meaningful defensive role on Sundays. Given his ties to former special teams coordinator Brayden Coombs, he seems likely to move on.
jdrogers@detroitnews.com
Twitter: @Justin_Rogers