Getty Michael Brockers celebrates a big play.
The Detroit Lions have set out to change the look of their entire defense during the 2021 season, and are off to a good start with a few early moves in the offseason.
Monday, the Lions agreed to bring back their best pass rusher Romeo Okwara from a season ago, and early Wednesday morning, they struck a deal to bring longtime Los Angeles Rams’ defensive lineman Michael Brockers into the mix.
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The deal was first reported by Tom Pelissero of the NFL Network.
While compensation was not mentioned, many were speculating on Twitter soon after the deal was revealed that it would not be much. The Rams are trying hard to get under the cap before the 2021 season, and Brockers could be an important part of that considering his salary is over $6 million for next season.
Brockers once nearly left the Rams for the Baltimore Ravens, but ended up returning to Los Angeles after concerns about his physical. Now, he’s set to depart for Detroit when the new league year comes around this week.
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Brockers’ Stats and Fit With Lions
The impact Brockers has made after he was a first-round pick of the Rams out of LSU back in 2012 cannot be debated. He has been an anchor in the middle of the team’s line and a player that is capable of packing a punch in the pocket. Brockers has put up 387 total tackles, 28 sacks, 9 passes defended and 2 forced fumbles in his career in Los Angeles. Moreover, he’s been to the Super Bowl and is a veteran leader the team has been able to count on when he has played in the league.
In Detroit, the Lions will want to see Brockers bring some of his patented pocket pressure as well as his leadership to the team. That’s an important variable to mention for a Lions team that is trying to change their entire culture overnight.
Brockers Recently Praised Jared Goff
Joining Good Morning Football just about a week ago, Brockers was asked about what makes future Lions quarterback Jared Goff special and what type of player the Lions were getting. As he said, Goff is not only a great player, but tough as well. That combination means that Brockers thinks the Lions should be very satisfied with Goff as their quarterback moving forward in his mind.
“He has a lot of experience — you can’t take that away from him. … He knows how to get it done when the time is needed. So, the Lions should be very happy with what they have. They got a guy with a lot of experience that knows how to get to the big game.”
Goff being a tough player capable of winning some games would be good news for the Lions, and that’s especially true given all they are losing in theory with Stafford. Replacing Stafford with a player who can at least equal him in terms of toughness and ability could be a huge win for the Lions moving forward both in the short and long-term.
Brockers would know, which lends some extra weight to his words in this case. Interestingly enough, he will now be set to join Goff in being a future Lion.
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