Mandatory Credit: Chuck Cook-USA TODAY Sports
Post-draft and with offseason work ramping up, here are three veteran free agents the Detroit Lions could still sign.
The Detroit Lions took a measured approach to free agency this offseason, mostly re-signing guys from last year’s 3-13-1 team with small dips outside (DJ Chark, Mike Hughes, Chris Board, Jarrad Davis). Building through the draft is the priority, as it should be.
That being said, there are still opportunities to add a veteran free agent or two, with 90 players on the roster as offseason work ramps up. After rookie minicamp, fuller OTAs will start a little later in May and mandatory minicamp will take place in June.
For the Lions, players who are a fit on and off the field have some level of priority. “Culture” is the buzzword, but it’s clear that general manager Brad Holmes and head coach Dan Campbell have a type. From rookie minicamp on Saturday, via Justin Rogers of the Detroit News, Campbell had a term to describe what they don’t want.
We are trying to avoid floaters. We don’t want to draft floaters. Floaters are a guy who gets here and just kind of, there he goes, he’s just in the open ocean. We want guys that are highly competitive and they love ball. They’re not going to be perfect. They might not always say the right things. They mean well, but they love ball. They’ll do anything for it and do anything for their teammates. In that regard, I’m elated with the guys that we have and the vision.”
With looking to fortify areas still lacking in one way or another in mind, here are three veteran free agents the Detroit Lions could still sign.