3 Lions who likely won’t be back in 2021
After years of trying to contend, the Detroit Lions need to accept the rebuild and start fresh all over.
The Detroit Lions desperately wanted to contend over the past decade. Matthew Stafford was young and cheap and the team had an offense that could be dangerous on any given Sunday. Too bad the hiring of Matt Patrica set the franchise back and now has them entering a subject of a rebuild mode.
The team currently projects to have over $181 million in salary cap obligations for next year. There’s very little money at the moment for the team to be big spenders in free agency, meaning they’ll need to cut some space. On top of that, they’ll truly need to consider tanking for a few years to get back on track.
Whoever becomes the next head coach for Detroit is in for the long haul. There isn’t an easy fix, nor one that likely keeps the franchise names around long-term. Ultimately, fans in the Motor City should expect the players to be in new uniforms by next season.
Three Lions who won’t be back in 2021
Scouting Report. Pick Analysis. Jarrad Davis. player. LB. Detroit Lions. 3. 50
Bob Quinn and Patrica both came from the New England organization. That means they believe the “Patriot way” could work anywhere and everywhere. Long story short, signing Patriots players doesn’t make you New England 2.0.
Jamie Collins did work for Detroit with 101 total tackles on the year. Jarrad Davis did not. He looked lost and swept away by offensive linemen in run sets and couldn’t add pressure up the middle to save his life. Entering a prove-it season, he proved that Quinn was right not to offer him a fifth-year deal.
Linebackers that can tackle will always get a chance to make it on a different team. Davis only collected 46 in 14 games. At this point, it’s clear he didn’t work under the Quinn regime and a new coach will likely be looking to bring in “his” guys for the future.