Getty Quinton Dunbar during a Seahawks game in 2020.
The Detroit Lions came into the 2021 season looking for depth at cornerback, and made what many considered to be a slick signing in Quinton Dunbar.
Dunbar, however, didn’t see his stay in Detroit last that long. Perhaps surprisingly, the Lions revealed on Thursday, August 12 that they were releasing the cornerback from the roster. As a corresponding move, the team added running back Craig Reynolds to the team.
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The team confirmed the news with a Tweet on Thursday morning.
#Lions have signed free agent running back Craig Reynolds and released CB Quinton Dunbar.
Dunbar had been away from the Lions with a personal matter recently, but Dan Campbell stated during a recent media availability a week ago before practice that the team was being kept up to date with where he was at and what was going on. Still, his departure is intriguing, and comes at a time when Detroit’s cornerback room has been fighting tooth and nail for jobs in practice. Dunbar will now not be a part of that mix.
As for Reynolds, he comes to the Lions short on NFL experience but long on intrigue. He came into the league as an undrafted free agent of the Washington Football Team in 2019, then signing with the Atlanta Falcons and Jacksonville Jaguars in 2020.
Here’s some highlights from when he played at small-school Kutztown College:
This swap may subtract from the defense but add a bit to the offense, being Reynolds was solid in college, ending up as Kutztown’s third all-time leading rusher with 2,650 yards on the ground. He was also second in school history with 5,277 all-purpose yards to his credit.
Now, Dunbar will need to look for work elsewhere, while Reynolds will try and earn a job with the Lions quickly.
Lions Cornerbacks Battling During Camp
Not only are the Lions having to expect Jeff Okudah to step up as well as Amani Oruwariye, but the team wants to see some of their other options do well on the field too. Seeing rookie Ifeatu Melifonwu step up and create a role for himself would be huge, and there are others on the foster such as Mike Ford who the team wants to see continue to make a name for themselves. The Lions also added stable veteran presence Nickell Robey-Coleman this week. So far, if the Lions are happy with releasing Dunbar, it could mean that the team is content with how some of the battles are playing out across the roster at this spot.
Even though the team has some depth, they are in need of a star as well as a role player stepping up. It’s possible the Lions have seen enough surprises in camp to think that they already have players set to do that, making Dunbar expendable.
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.
It’s possible Dunbar could still land somewhere else in need of cornerback help, but the Lions appear to think they may be alright with depth at the position in 2021 to make this move.
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