Lions Agree to Sign Former Vikings Defensive Back

Jayron Kearse

Getty Jayron Kearse of the Vikings.

The Detroit Lions are making plenty of moves in order to fix their defense in the 2020 offseason, and have signed a former rival in order to help them do so.

According to Tom Pelissero of the NFL Network, the Lions have agreed to sign Minnesota Vikings safety Jayron Kearse in free agency. It’s a 1 year deal that’s worth $2.75 million dollars.

Kearse will get a chance to come to Detroit on what is essentially a prove it deal with the Lions. He can add depth at safety and also give the team some snaps on special teams as well.


Jayron Kearse Statistics

Coming into the league out of Clemson as a seventh round pick, Kearse was well decorated during his time with the Tigers as a first team ACC player in 2014 and 2015. In the NFL, Kearse has put up decent stats with 79 tackles, 0.5 sacks, 1 interception and 8 passes defended. Kearse hasn’t played a huge role to this point in his career, but with the Lions, he will get a chance to do plenty of things within their scheme and show why he’s a great player.


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. Defensive tackle Danny Shelton also agreed to join the team on Wednesday in addition to cornerback Desmond Trufant. They also agreed to trade for Patriots safety Duron Harmon. 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 injuries, 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 undoubtedly 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.

Getting Kearse into the mix helps give the Lions some extra depth at a spot where they were weak before. The secondary needs some heavy lifting, and this addition gives them some extra chance to do just that.

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