Lions Named Best Free Agency Fit for Young Pro Bowl Linebacker

Getty Tremaine Edmunds before a 2023 Bills game in New York.

The Detroit Lions are starting out the offseason pondering what comes next in terms of moves, and once the free agency party gets started, there will be a lot of names that get tossed around.

Already, there’s been lots of talk about which players fit the team the best, and there have been some answers provided on that front from across the internet as the free agency period gets set to ratchet things up in a few weeks.

ESPN analyst Matt Bowen made some connections for his top 50 impending free agents. With so many defensive needs, it could have been expected to see the Lions tied to a few players. Instead, the team was called out as a fit for just one, Buffalo Bills linebacker Tremaine Edmunds.

Edmunds, an impending free agent, was rated the 18th best free agent on the market this year in the piece, and Bowen thinks that he would be ideal for a Lions team that needs difference-makers on defense and players capable of making plays.

“Detroit needs to add more difference-makers on defense, and I see Edmunds as a prime fit at the second level of the Lions’ system. He’s a long 6-foot-5 linebacker with coverage range and downhill acceleration against the run game. Edmunds registered seven pass breakups, 102 tackles, one interception and a sack in 2022. He’s a young player at age 25, but Edmunds has already started 74 games over five pro seasons. He would be a strong addition to a Detroit team that was among the worst on defense last season but will have the opportunity to compete for the NFC North title this fall,” Bowen wrote in the piece.

Linebacker may or may not be the biggest current need in Detroit, but it’s clear that folks want to see the team address defense first. A young player like Edmunds would be an intriguing addition for the Lions to make that could grow with a very young roster.

At this point, Bowen sees him as Detroit’s top fit for an offseason signing.

Edmunds’ Career Stats & Highlights

The former first-round pick out of Virginia Tech has made a quick impact in just a few short seasons in the league. As a rookie, Edmunds put up 121 total tackles, two sacks, two interceptions and two forced fumbles for Buffalo.

Things would only get much better from the youngster after that, though. In 2019, Edmunds was a Pro Bowler after putting together a 115 tackle, 1.5 sack and one interception year after starting all 16 games.

As a whole, Edmunds has put up some solid numbers in the league. He has 565 combined tackles, 32 tackles for-loss, 6.5 sacks, five interceptions and 35 passes defended. That shows his range as a complete linebacker, and a player who can play both the run and the pass in elite fashion at his position on the field.

As a Pro Bowl player in 2019 and 2020 who is also just 25 years old, Edmunds is the kind of player the Lions could lean on to be a big part of their future as an investment.

Lions Linebacker Room Could Use Upgrade

In terms of a spot that needs some help this offseason on defense, linebacker might not generate as much buzz as some other spots within the team’s defensive backfield or defensive front. Still, there is a need for more playmaking there.

Coming off a solid 2022 season which saw him post 121 tackles and an interception, Alex Anzalone is the elder-statesman of the group, but someone that could be retained in free agency given his productive fit within the scheme and the locker room.

While linebacker is another major defensive need for the team, there are some major rays of hope already on the roster for the Lions. Second-year man Derrick Barnes continues to try and elevate his own game after a 47 tackle, one sack year, Rookie Malcolm Rodriguez was amongst one of the most impressive young linebackers in football this season, totaling 87 tackles and one sack in 2022.

Finding some more linebackers that can excel against the run and help against the pass could be key, and Edmunds is the kind of player that can do a bit of everything for a team like Detroit if he was added to the mix. He’s also a young veteran, which could be huge for Detroit’s future.

It remains to be seen how much of a need the Lions consider the linebacker spot, but if they target it, Edmunds could be a good answer for the team to remember.