Getty Clelin Ferrell celebrates a play in 2021 with a Raiders teammate.
The Detroit Lions haven’t met expectations on defense this year, and as a result, folks are pondering what kind of changes can be made to fix the roster.
There’s been no shortage of ideas about what the team can do in order to take the next steps forward, and most involve making a trade designed to shake up the back end of the defense.
Another such trade, however, could take aim at helping to fix Detroit’s struggling defensive line, which has also been a problem in 2022. ESPN’s Bill Barnwell took a look at suggesting trade deadline proposals for teams around the league and the Lions were included.
In this pitch, Detroit makes a trade with another disappointing 1-4 team, the Las Vegas Raiders. Detroit gets struggling defensive end Clelin Ferrell, while the Raiders get recently-benched cornerback Amani Oruwariye. It’s a one-for-one swap of players.
“The Lions would be taking a shot on evaluating Ferrell as a rotational defensive end for what has been a horrible defense. In his place, they’d send Oruwariye to the Raiders. I thought he was a revelation last season and looked to be a building block for the Lions, but he has struggled in 2022 and was a healthy scratch last week against the Patriots. As a free agent after this season, Oruwariye’s future seems to be elsewhere, and the Raiders are perpetually in need of more help at cornerback,” Barnwell wrote of the potential move.
The move would represent a pure scenery change and dump for both players on their respective teams, and would be one way for both sides to try and jump-start the career of players who are at a crossroads given their time in the league.
If Ferrell panned out, he could offer the team another piece for a defensive line that simply doesn’t get after the quarterback or stop the run. That could be useful for the Lions at this stage of the game, especially if they were able to deal for another cornerback such as Sidney Jones.
Ferrell’s Stats & Highlights
It’s not a stretch to say Ferrell was over-drafted by the Raiders in 2019, when he went with the fourth-overall selection to the team. Since then, he has been a bust for a large part of his career given some shaky production.
Ferrell has only put up a total of 7.5 sacks and 82 tackles in his career with two forced fumbles and one fumble recovery. Safe to say that is not the production a team expects when they pick a defensive lineman within the top five of a draft.
While Ferrell hasn’t reached his potential, he could still find a way to be a serviceable player, especially if he got a scenery change. At Clemson, Ferrell was one of college football’s top defensive lineman, claiming the coveted Ted Hendricks award in 2018 and putting together a college career with 166 tackles, 27 sacks and five forced fumbles.
Whether Ferrell was simply being misused or not would be up to Detroit to decide, especially seeing as the youngster is just 25 years old.
Oruwariye Struggling Early During 2022 Season
Coming into the 2022 season, there was a hope that Oruwariye could be a breakout player for Detroit given a solid six interception season in 2021. That hasn’t played out whatsoever.
Oruwariye has struggled in a major way this season, and has been victimized by both the opposition as well as penalties. His struggles led him to the bench during Week 5 of the season, but given the injuries that have played out on his defense, he could be back in the starting lineup soon.
In 2021, Oruwariye put up a solid 57 tackles and six interceptions. This year, he has just 18 tackles to his credit through the first five weeks with no picks. It’s a troubling step backward for a player most assumed would be one of Detroit’s key defenders during this season.
A change in scenery could help Oruwariye, especially if the Lions don’t decide to keep him around with a new contract in the future. Given this start, that could certainly be in limbo for the team.
Striking a deal like this could be the best of both worlds for each player as well as each team. It’s the kind of deal that might allow either team a chance at a new start with some new talent on the roster.
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Lions Encouraged to Swap Struggling Starter for Former Top 5 Pick