Getty Darius Slay gets beaten for a touchdown in the season finale.
The Detroit Lions figure to have plenty of needs as they ponder what to do this offseason, and one of the biggest issues they will face revolves around what to do on defense.
In the defensive backfield, the Lions have struggled, and they have a major decision to make with Darius Slay. Once the subject of trade rumors, Slay could be a player that finds himself on the move again, and the team will have a big choice to make with the cornerback.
Recently, Pro Football Focus writer Ben Linsey took a look at naming the biggest offseason needs for teams in the league. When it came to Detroit, the site named finding a succession plan for Slay as the biggest need. Behind that, pass rush and linebacker remain holes the team needs to consider.
Here’s what Linsey wrote:
“Slay has widely been considered one of the best cornerbacks in the NFL over the past five or so years, and he has been exactly that. This season, though, he took a step back with a 56.9 overall grade, and he is set to enter free agency in 2021. Outside of Slay, Justin Coleman and Rashaan Melvin (free agent in 2020) both struggled with passer ratings allowed north of 100.0 and coverage grades south of 60.0. Rookie cornerback Amani Oruwariye flashed some promising performances to close the season, but the Lions still need to address the position.
Surprisingly, given the addition of Trey Flowers and Mike Daniels to a talented group from the 2018 season, the Lions also need to add pass rushing this offseason. Their 30.3% pressure rate this season ranked 29th in the NFL — ahead of only the Dolphins, Seahawks and Falcons. Getting someone other than Flowers who can rush the passer should be in the cards. They should look to improve their linebacking corps, as well, as Jarrad Davis (40.4 overall grade) and Christian Jones (43.8) both finished the 2019 season with PFF grades among the worst at the position.”
As a whole, the spots of cornerback, defensive end and linebacker do seem to be the biggest needs the team has entering the offseason. Deciding whether to keep Slay and draft at the position and also sign a free agent seems to be the one decision that will determine how things end up for Detroit.
Figuring out how to navigate those waters and what to do with Slay are the biggest goals for the Lions this offseason.
Lions Cap Space in 2020
Whatever they decide to do with Slay and otherwise, Detroit will have a decent chunk of change to spend this offseason, having restructured Matthew Stafford’s deal to push their cap space to around $50 million dollars for the coming season. With this money, the Lions will have multiple different needs to address including the defensive line, secondary as well as potential upgrades on offense.
The Lions could always open up more space with a few savvy moves, and there could be other cap casualties that might impact the team’s final salary number more dramatically ahead of March.
For now, though, the Lions have a decent amount of money to spend to patch several of the holes they will be dealing with.
Lions Biggest 2020 Free Agency Need is Defense
Detroit could not pressure the quarterback meaningfully in 2019, and struggled stopping the pass as well, something that has been painfully obvious that is a glaring problem even in spite of what the team has done in the last few offseason periods. Part of the problem has been injury, but beyond Trey Flowers and Da’Shawn Hand, the Lions simply don’t have any young building blocks they can count on right now. The team has to find some form of consistency in the trenches, and that is why it’s a major need for them moving forward.
If free agency were to begin today, the Lions would undoubtably have to look at the defensive line and the backfield for potential upgrades, with another eye at linebacker. Having some extra money could help the team make some key additions there, and patch some of their other depth holes on the offensive side.
Deciding how to prioritize this money will be a key decision for the Lions to weigh in the weeks ahead.
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