Getty Desmond Trufant gets burned by the Texans.
The Detroit Lions will have some tough choices to make in the weeks ahead in order to keep their roster solvent for the 2021 season, so thoughts will now turn to what players will be on the move when all is said and done in the weeks ahead.
Cuts have begun across the league, and already, there have been several former players hitting the free agent market for teams to examine. Detroit hasn’t made any dramatic moves as of yet, but there could be some looming on the horizon for the team to remember that might save them some immediate cash.
Recently, Pro Football Focus and writer Brad Spielberger looked at some of the best cut candidates for each team. When it came to Detroit, a pretty obvious choice was identified in the form of cornerback Desmond Trufant.
Trufant was a splashy signing by the Lions last year in March, but could be destined to become a roster casualty at this point in time, which is something that Spielberger predicts.
He wrote:
“The Lions are currently projected to be over the salary cap in 2021 despite the team winning only a combined eight games over the past two seasons.
New general manager Brad Holmes has already begun aggressively overhauling this roster, trading quarterback Matthew Stafford to the Rams and bringing Jared Goff to the Motor City. Holmes and new head coach Dan Campbell have even been honest in saying they’re undergoing something of a rebuild and targeting 2022/2023 to truly be competitive.
Trufant had a disastrous 2020 campaign within the league’s most porous defense, posting career-lows in overall grade, coverage grade and run-defense grade. He’ll turn 30 this upcoming season and has a hefty price tag for a team that knows it won’t compete. There’s no reason to not let Trufant look to bounce back elsewhere.”
The Lions hoped to be the team that Trufant bounced back with in 2020, but it simply didn’t happen which could leave the team compelled to save his $6 million dollar cap hit this season for something else. That might only be true given the financial realities facing the team.
Desmond Trufant Stats
Trufant did not have the bounce back season he or anyone else wanted in Detroit this past year. After playing and getting injured in Week 1, Trufant has been in and out of the lineup and battling plenty of nagging issues through the season. The Lions haven’t managed to get much elite play out of Trufant this season, which has been very frustrating for the team to note. This offseason, they signed him to a deal in order to play a major role at cornerback, but that signing only looks to have failed considering his health and sketchy production.
This year, Trufant collected a mere 20 tackles, 1 sack and 1 interception to his credit. That’s not what the Lions wanted to see on his ledger given the role he was expected to play for the team. The inconsistent prodution combined with plenty of unfortunate injuries to hurt Trufant. It’s easy to call him a failed free agency signing as a result of this misfortune and understand why the team would want to move on.
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Lions Cornerback Room Could See Changes
The Lions could be looking at some interesting changes at cornerback in the months ahead given the high-dollar amount that a couple of their players occupy. Trufant is not the only player who could be on the block, as cornerback Justin Coleman might also be destined to be on the move in the weeks ahead. The team has a couple of solid young players to work with in Jeff Okudah and Amani Oruwariye, so they could look to give each more time and a bigger role for 2021.
That will be likely to happen if Trufant is cut.
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