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The Detroit Lions are continuing to reshape their defense in the 2020 offseason, and have reportedly struck to land former New England Patriots nose tackle Danny Shelton.
According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Shelton will be joining the Lions on a 2 year deal worth $8 million dollars.
Shelton was one of the top interior defensive lineman left on the market, and will join the Lions as yet another former Patriots player who has a connection to Matt Patricia and the staff. Shelton will join his former defensive coordinator Patricia as plenty of other players have recently who have defected from New England.
Danny Shelton Stats
Shelton was a draft pick of the Cleveland Browns in 2015, and after a quick exit in Cleveland, he was sent to New England, where he fit right in and ended up helping the team win Super Bowl LIII. In his career, Shelton has 210 tackles, 4.5 sacks and 1 forced fumble. Shelton’s major role has been a plugger and a nose tackle, often doing the grimy work in the trenches in order to help others up front have success. He’s also solid against the run.
Shelton’s best season in the league was 2019, when he piled up 3.5 sacks and 61 tackles. It’s possible the 26 year old is starting to come into his own with that in mind.
Lions Free Agency Signings
The Lions have reached reported previous free agency agreements with offensive lineman Halapoulivaati Vaitai, linebacker Jamie Collins, quarterback Chase Daniel and defensive lineman Nick Williams. The group upgrades some important spots on the team, and will help the Lions boost the spots that are most needed for 2020. The Lions have managed to get things going quickly and effectively this offseason in free agency to be able to try and reshape their team.
Lions Biggest 2020 Free Agency Need is Defense
In order to get back into the playoffs and turn themselves around, the Lions are going to need an infusion of talent, especially on defense. Detroit did not pressure the quarterback meaningfully in 2019, and struggled stopping the pass as well, something that has been painfully obvious for weeks and that is a glaring problem given 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.
In free agency, the Lions will 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.
Shelton coming to the Motor City at least fills a major need for a plugger up front and a gritty player on defense who knows the team’s scheme. The trenches need a complete renovation, and this is at the very least a good continuation to what the team has done.
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