Getty Desmond Trufant makes a play against Washington.
The Detroit Lions are ready to start re-shaping their roster, and the big changes are now starting to trickle in by the day.
As hinted to earlier this week by Dan Campbell, ESPN’s Adam Schefter confirmed the Lions would be releasing starting cornerback Desmond Trufant at the start of the new league year in order to save money against the salary cap.
Lions have informed starting CB Desmond Trufant that he will be released at the start of the league this year later this month, per source.
Trufant struggled in a major way with health and consistency last season, and as a result, played his way out of Detroit. The Lions simply didn’t get enough from Trufant at all on the field in order to justify keeping him around. His release will save the team around $6.2 million for 2021, money that will go to rounding out the depth on the roster the rest of the offseason.
Trufant’s release could be just the beginning for the Lions, who will need to make multiple moves to try and get their team financial solvent for next year. Others who could soon be on the block? Cornerback Justin Coleman, defensive lineman Danny Shelton and tight end Jesse James.
Desmond Trufant Stats
Trufant has not had the bounce back season he or anyone else wanted in Detroit this year. After playing and getting injured in Week 1, Trufant was 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. Last 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 most of the season.
This year, Trufant had a mere 20 tackles, 1 sack and 1 interception to his credit, which was a far cry from his Pro Bowl season of 2015. That’s not what the Lions wanted to see on his ledger when combined with plenty of unfortunate injuries. It’s easy to call him a failed free agency signing as a result of this misfortune and understand why the team wanted to move on given his salary.
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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 and Coleman are cut, which could be a few of the moves to watch for in the coming days. Obviously, this could be just the beginning of what the Lions decide to do in the coming weeks.
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