Notable NFL free agents aren’t aplenty right now, but three former Detroit Lions have made a list of the top 10 available.
As teams start reporting for training camp, 90-man rosters to start camp with are mostly set. But there are a few big names who are still available, including some former Detroit Lions.
At the dawn of training camps around the league, with by this time next week a first full practice done or coming soon, Pro Football Network has a top-10 list of remaining free agents.
Odell Beckham Jr. and Julio Jones are the two biggest names on the list. Trey Flowers, Ndamukong Suh and Eric Ebron are on the list, and while they’re not strictly ranked (Jones was the last mentioned) the former Lions were mentioned second, fourth and seventh respectively.
Former Detroit Lions land on list of best available free agents
DE Trey Flowers
Trey Flowers is a versatile pass rusher, who can fit odd and even fronts. He’s not known for being a consistent performer in the sack department, but he can set the edge and stop the run as a rotational presence. Raised in the Patriot Way, perhaps a late-summer return to New England makes sense. Flowers is only 28 and can clearly still perform as a rotational contributor.
Flowers’ last two seasons as a Lion were hampered by injury, as he totaled 3.5 sacks in 14 combined games. But he had at least 6.5 sacks in four straight seasons prior to that, with at least 20 quarterback hits in the last three of those. The need for capable pass rushers around the league should land him somewhere before Week 1.
DT Ndamukong Suh
Ndamukong Suh’s ship has sailed in Tampa Bay, and he reportedly won’t be heading to Cleveland, either. While his dominance has waned over the years, Suh’s still a starting-caliber nose tackle with the ability to play in odd and even fronts. Suh isn’t going to be an every-down player in most defenses, but he can certainly help in a rotational role.
A narrow list of suitors for Suh seem to be dwindling, with the Browns seemingly out after a recent report they were interested was refuted. He is older (35), but he has remained a capable player and his ongoing availability may be due to his asking price more than anything. If he wants to keep playing, that will have to change.
TE Eric Ebron
While Eric Ebron certainly has his quirks, he’s still a talented playmaker. He’s bounced around as an NFL nomad over the past few years, but he could serve as a depth piece who pushes a starting tight end in camp. The 29-year-old is coming off a down year with the Steelers, as he only caught 12 passes for 84 yards and a touchdown.
Ebron was tabbed as a possible fit for the Minnesota Vikings by Bleacher Report about a month ago, but that’s been the only real buzz around him thus far. The knee injury that ended his 2021 season with the Steelers should not be an issue for teams, at least based on Ebron’s tweet from February saying he’d been medically cleared.
It’s easy to think Flowers, Suh and Ebron should be signed somewhere already. But as camp goes on and teams take real inventory of what they have and don’t have, expect all three to find homes in the coming weeks.