Detroit Lions get more help for secondary, sign CB Quinton Dunbar to 1-year deal

Detroit Free Press

Quinton Dunbar came into the NFL as a wide receiver and quickly found a home on the defensive side of the ball. Now, Dunbar is looking for a fresh start with one of the coaches who helped make his switch to cornerback a success.

Dunbar signed a one-year contract with the Detroit Lions on Monday, his agency, Elite Loyalty Sports, announced on Twitter.

In Detroit, Dunbar will reunite with secondary coach Aubrey Pleasant, who was a defensive quality control coach with Washington in 2015 when Dunbar entered the league as an undrafted free agent receiver.

Dunbar, an undrafted free agent out of Florida in 2015, has at least one interception in each of his six NFL seasons and developed into a quality starter in Washington.

He had a key interception against the Lions in 2019, which led to a come-from-behind victory, but has dealt with injuries and legal issues the past three seasons.

In 2018, his first full year as a starter, Dunbar finished the season on injured reserve with a nerve injury that made him lose power in his left leg.

In 2019, he suffered a hamstring injury that sent him to injured reserve. And last year with the Seattle Seahawks, he missed the end of the season after undergoing knee surgery.

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Dunbar, who was Washington’s best cornerback in 2019, was arrested on armed robbery charges last spring that were later dropped. The charges stemmed from an incident in which Dunbar and cornerback Deandre Baker allegedly stole jewelry and money at gunpoint from people at a house party as retaliation for gambling losses a night earlier.

The Lions are high on young cornerbacks Jeff Okudah and Amani Oruwariye, but have added two cornerbacks in the past week: Dunbar and slot cornerback Corn Elder.

Mike Ford, who has made his most significant contributions on special teams, is the only other cornerback on the Lions’ roster.

Of the 11 free agents the Lions have signed this spring — Dunbar, Elder, running back Jamaal Williams, tight end Josh Hill, quarterback Tim Boyle, receivers Tyrell Williams, Breshad Perriman, Kalif Raymond and Damion Ratley, linebacker Alex Anzalone and kicker Randy Bullock — all but one (Williams) have signed one-year contracts.

Contact Dave Birkett at dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @davebirkett.

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