Lions Urged to Consider Trading Former 1st-Round Pass Rusher

For the first time in many years, the Detroit Lions will enter a season this fall not in full rebuilding mode. Not only that, but some NFL analysts, such as media personality Ross Tucker, consider the Lions a threat to make a run at the Super Bowl.

But Bleacher Report’s Kristopher Knox still argued the Lions should consider their future when it comes to one defensive player — defensive end Charles Harris.

Knox named Harris the team’s one player they should consider trading before the start of the 2023 season.

“Harris has one year left on that deal, and the Lions should consider moving him while they have the opportunity,” wrote Knox.

“While the trade market for Harris might not be strong, the Lions should be happy to get something in return for a player who probably isn’t in their long-term plans. Dealing Harris would free up a roster spot for a player who might be part of the future, and it would save Detroit $3.1 million in cap space.”

Harris has played the past two seasons for the Lions. In six games during 2022, he recorded 14 combined tackles, including 2 tackles for loss, 4 quarterback hits and 1 sack.

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Why Harris Could Be a Trade Candidate for the Lions

Harris was one of the bright spots on a bad Detroit defense during the 2021 season.

In his first season with the Lions, he led the team with 7.5 sacks, 10 tackles for loss and 16 quarterback hits. All three of those numbers were new career highs for Harris in 2021.

It was the breakout year many expected from Harris long before his fifth season. The Miami Dolphins drafted Harris at No. 22 overall in the 2017 NFL draft. But he never earned a consistent starting role with the Dolphins, who then traded him to the Atlanta Falcons.

He posted 3 sacks with the Falcons in 2020, but Atlanta didn’t bother to keep him either. Harris landed with the Lions on a prove-it deal ahead of the 2021 season.

After earning a second contract in Detroit, though, Harris disappointed with 1 sack last season. He started the first four games and then dealt with injuries the rest of the year. Harris ended the season on injured reserve with a groin issue.

Harris going to injured reserve actually gave rookie sensation James Houston his first opportunity in the regular season. He provided a late-season spark for the Lions defense with 8 sacks.

Knox argued that Houston’s development and the other pass rushers the Lions possess make Harris expendable.

“With Aidan Hutchinson, James Houston, John Cominsky and Romeo Okwara emerging as a viable pass-rushing rotation, Harris simply may not return to a prominent role this season,” Knox wrote. “He already had a lesser impact last year, recording just one sack in six games before landing on injured reserve with a groin injury.”

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Reasons to Keep Harris for the 2023 Season

The Lions hope Houston and 2021 first-round pick Aidan Hutchinson are the team’s future star pass rushers. More than likely, Knox is also correct that Harris won’t be back with the Lions in 2024.

But that doesn’t mean Harris can’t be a valuable contributor this fall.

The Lions need a third pass-rushing option. Houston and Hutchinson combined last season to record 21.5 of the team’s 39 sacks.

John Cominsky posted a career-best 4 sacks in 2022. Maybe he’s ready to break out for more, but in his first three NFL seasons combined, he had 1.5 sacks.

Romeo Okwara reached double-digit sacks three years ago. But over the past two seasons, he’s dealt with an Achilles injury, which has limited him to 3 sacks in nine games.

Even if healthy in 2023, Okwara may never be the same player.

There’s a reason why the Lions have been connected to free agent pass rushers such as Yannick Ngakoue and Leonard Floyd. Detroit may need another veteran presence to place pressure on the quarterback to be a real threat in the NFC.

It would be a bit foolish for general manager Brad Holmes to trade a veteran who could fill that role. Even if that veteran is on an expiring contract.

Furthermore, the possibility of Harris posting 4 or more sacks for the Lions is arguably more valuable than the $3.1 million in cap savings the team would earn by trading the veteran.

That’s especially true when the Lions already have $23.7 million in cap space to use.

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