The Detroit Lions have to find big-time players to help their present and future, and have been looking for weapons on offense most of the offseason.
While the team hasn’t made a bigger signing or splashy move other than DJ Chark, the opportunity does still exist for the Lions to find a playmaker on the market. Some wide receivers are having discontent at the moment, and the biggest name for this is Deebo Samuel. Reportedly, the Lions are a team to remember in trade talks which puts them in the middle of an intense debate about what should happen next.
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Will a move with Samuel play out for the team in the coming days in Detroit? Not everyone is sure that will be the case, and for good reason. The Lions are in the middle of a full-scale rebuild, and trading away picks for a possible fit like Samuel would still represent the kind of bold move that the franchise is ready for at this point in time.
Writer Kevin Patra ranked some of the fits for Samuel in an NFL.com piece, and while the Lions were included, Patra conceded within his analysis that a Samuel trade to the Lions might not make much sense given the fact that the Lions are still on the come-up and seem to have a different plan for the way they are building their franchise.
“To this point, Lions GM Brad Holmes has been shrewd in his rebuild, favoring short deals with upside that don’t commit long-term money. With considerable work to do across the roster, would Holmes toss that approach out the window to acquire Deebo? A trade wouldn’t be cheap in draft assets and future cap space,” Patra wrote within the piece.
Adding Samuel is going to cost a team big-time. The Lions have the assets, but are they close enough to contending to justify such a move? Some folks aren’t sure, but only Holmes himself will know that answer.
Samuel Trade Would Represent Risk-Reward for Lions
The Lions do have some potential ammunition to offer if they want Samuel in a trade badly enough. This year,Detroit has picks 32 and 34 to offer, plus a pair of third-round picks. They also have the possible allure of a pair of 2023 first-round selections to offer as well, so it’s obvious the team has some ammunition in the near future to get a deal done if they so choose. From Detroit’s perspective, trading pick 32 and a third-round pick in 2022 plus a middle-round pick in 2023 could help facilitate the move. It is unlikely Detroit would consider trading the second-overall selection in 2022 for Samuel, nor would they be likely to give up either 2023 first-round pick given where they are at in the rebuild. Rumors hold San Francisco is looking for a major return for Samuel, which Detroit could offer. Whether they want to take the risk of depleting their pick arsenal is another story.
A trade like this would be interesting from Detroit’s perspective because the team lacks big-play ability on offense in recent years. In 2021, Detroit’s offense struggled to the tune of being the 22nd ranked offense in the league. While adding Samuel would no doubt help that, is the rest of the team ready for such a move, including a defense that needs plenty of reinforcements that only a draft bounty could provide? That will be the major debate for the team’s brain trust in the coming days.
Samuel’s Career Stats & Highlights
There’s no doubting what Samuel brings from a talent perspective on the field. Since coming into the NFL in 2019 as a second-round pick out of South Carolina, Samuel has been changing minds on how the wideout position is played given his ability to be a versatile weapon. Samuel was a first-team All-Pro in 2021 as well as a Pro Bowler. Statistically, he is a force, with 2,598 receiving yards and 10 receiving touchdowns to go with 550 rushing yards and 11 rushing touchdowns.
Here’s a glimpse at some of Samuel’s big-play ability:
It’s safe to say that adding Samuel to the mix would be a game-changing move for a Lions team that needs a dramatic shakeup. Whether Holmes is willing to commit to a big move at this point in the rebuild remains to be seen, and not everyone on the outside is sure that will be the case in the end.
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