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y Flowers and cornerbacks Justin Coleman , to put any position in play during the draft."With what the

in Balance Discussion Mon Jan 20, 2020 3:21 am
by elaine95 • Farseer | 399 Posts | 3990 Points

T.J. Lang went on injured reserve in November with a neck injury and the Lions right guard battled other injuries earlier in a season that saw him appear in only six games.Lang’s inability to stay healthy and a cap number over $11.5 million have created uncertainty about his future in Detroit. There’s a $500 Womens Calvin Johnson Jersey ,000 roster bonus due early in the new league year and General Manager Bob Quinn said from the Scouting Combine on Wednesday that the team is still working out how they’ll proceed.“Everyone’s kind of different in terms of the evaluation process on each player,” Quinn said, via ESPN.com. “Some players you can have the evaluation done in a couple weeks after the season, some guys linger a little bit longer. I would say T.J. is in that category of someone that we’re still kind of going through the process of thinking about what we want to do and kind of talking to T.J. a little bit here and there. Those conversations between myself and him we’ll kind of keep private.”One possibility is that those conversations will be about Lang taking a pay cut that makes it easier for the Lions to keep him and see if 2019 brings better health for the veteran lineman. The Detroit Lions were the laughingstock of the league when they drafted wide receivers in the first round three straight years from 2003 to 2005, and none of them panned out for the franchise.Detroit drafted tight ends in the first round twice over the past decade and ended up releasing both players.Putting history aside, it looks as if the Lions need help at tight end and wide receiver during the draft after largely ignoring both positions in recent years. Detroit has the No. 8 selection overall and a total of nine picks, including a pair in each of the last two rounds.Since 2014, Detroit has drafted only one receiver and one tight end and both picks were made two years ago.Receiver Kenny Golladay , a third-rounder, has become a promising player while tight end Zach Zenner Jersey White , Michael Roberts, a fourth-round pick, has not been very productive.The Lions can't be sure how receiver Marvin Jones will bounce back from a season-ending knee injury and they have only a short-term solution at slot receiver, signing 33-year-old Danny Amendola in free agency.They attempted to address their desperate need at tight end this offseason, signing free agent Jesse James, but they don't seem to be satisfied."We're going to do the best we can to obviously try to improve that situation for us, whether it's through free agency or the draft," Lions coach Matt Patricia said."We're looking at those guys pretty hard and trying to make sure we get somebody in there that puts as much stress on the defense as possible."Former Lions general manager Matt Millen believed the NFL was becoming a pass-happy league. Millen did correctly predict the future trend, but he missed on key picks.Quarterback Joey Harrington was a bust as were receivers Charles Rogers and Mike Williams while Roy Williams had a decent career before being traded to Dallas.Fans in the Motor City were not happy the franchise used first-round picks on tight end Ebron in 2014 and Brandon Pettigrew in 2009 and may not like it if general manager Bob Quinn drafts Iowa tight end T.J. Hockenson early in the first round."In all due respect to the fans out there, I can't take the fan sentiment into who I draft and who I sign Womens Matt Prater Jersey ," Quinn said.Here are other things to watch when Detroit drafts:TRADE TALKQuinn sounds very interested in acquiring extra selections to slide down in the draft in exchange for the No. 8 pick."There's a couple of players right at the top that you would obviously would love to have," Quinn said. "I just don't think I have enough ammunition to get up there."I'd rather move back a couple spots."If Quinn backs up his talk with action and moves down, he may draft a wide receiver such as Oklahoma's Marquise Brown, Mississippi's D.K. Metcalf or A.J. Brown.SOUTHERN FLAVORQuinn has drafted seven players from the Southeastern Conference the past two years, including both first- and second-round picks. The trend may continue with him taking LSU linebacker Devin White and Alabama offensive lineman Jonah Williams in the first round.NEW TERRIORTYDetroit reached double digits in losses last year in Patricia's debut season for the first time since 2012, giving it the No. 8 pick overall. Quinn had the No. 20 pick last year, No. 21 in 2017 and No. 16 three years ago in his debut as a general manager after helping the New England Patriots scout for prospects to take late in the first round for many years."This is unchartered territory for me," Quinn said. "I don't really love it."BEST AVAILABLEThe Lions addressed many needs in free agency , signing player such as defensive end Trey Flowers and cornerbacks Justin Coleman , to put any position in play during the draft."With what the board looks like and what our perceived needs are Womens Kerry Hyder Jersey , probably a little bit more pushing toward the best available player," Quinn said."I think that's a good thing. Now, things can change between now and September. But going into it this year, we feel a little bit better about the depth at certain positions."HELP UP FRONTQuinn might not draft an offensive lineman in the first round for the third time in four years, but it seems likely he will take at least one player to add depth."It's a position we studied really hard," Quinn said. "Our offensive line coaches were out more than in previous years. There's good depth at that position from the first round all the way down to the fifth and sixth round, a little bit more on the interior."

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