Lions Will Host Productive Young Cornerback to Visit: Report

The Detroit Lions are looking toward making a few moves the rest of the way in free agency after a fast start to the offseason, and another player could be on their shopping list for the second wave.

Free agent cornerback Quinton Dunbar, formally of the Washington Football team and Seattle Seahawks, is scheduled to visit with the Lions this week. In addition to the Lions, Dunbar is expected to meet with the Arizona Cardinals as well.

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This news was first broken by Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network.

Speaking this week, Lions general manager Brad Holmes was asked about what position he might consider targeting the rest of the way to shore up the roster. While he said he likes the roster and depth in the defensive backfield, that could be a spot where the team looks for help in the weeks ahead. Interestingly enough, a day later, news of the Dunbar visit leaked.

Holmes’ analysis is certainly correct. The Lions could still use some help in the secondary, and could use either a cornerback or a safety or both. While adding a young player could make sense, bringing in a veteran could also help given the Lions have multiple young players at both spots already. Detroit has chased after multiple safeties in free agency but hasn’t landed any. News on them looking at cornerback has been sparse at this point in time, but Dunbar adds an established visitor name to the mix at the cornerback spot.

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Dunbar’s Stats and Highlights

A former undrafted free agent cornerback out of Florida and a converted wide receiver, Dunbar made waves with his ability to come in and star with Washington from 2015-2019. He was a productive member of the secondary racking up 180 tackles, 10 interceptions, 40 passes defended, 1 fumble recovery and 1 sack. Dunbar burst on the scene and had his best season in 2019 when he put up 4 interceptions alone for Washington. In 2020, Dunbar was traded to the Seahawks, and had an up and down season last year which was rankled by injury and inconsistency. Dunbar was reportedly involved in an off-the-field incident in Miami where he was said to have committed armed robbery with Deandre Baker of the New York Giants, but charges were eventually dropped against Dunbar for the event.

Highlights show a player who is an intriguing talent and ballhawk.

Dunbar is just 28 years old as well, so he still has some time to get even better.

Lions Still Have Major Defensive Needs This Offseason

The Lions have needs not only in the trenches and at linebacker but on the back end of their defense as well. Detroit could use a safety but could also look to add a cornerback to the mix as well to help out their young players in finding a footing. The team could also look to make more additions at linebacker and along the defensive line, although bringing back Romeo Okwara was a great start for Detroit as it relates to that up front. Getting Michael Brockers in the mix will help the Lions to fortify their line in a big way, too.

With young players like Jeff Okudah and Amani Oruwariye at cornerback, the depth is a concern after some cuts recently, but adding a player there could help as well. Getting another free agent or two and supplementing through the draft should be the goal for the Lions at this point in time.

Eventually, Dunbar could be the next name up for the team.

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