The Detroit Lions missed out on Joey Porter Jr. The Pittsburgh Steelers traded their fourth-year veteran to the Dallas Cowboys for a 2028 second-round pick and a 2027 sixth-round pick. Whether Detroit did not want to beat that trade price or take on the abnormal salary that would come with extending Porter, they did not make the move.
However, they still have a need at cornerback. One player the Lions could pivot to after missing out on Porter is Tampa Bay Buccaneers cornerback Zyon McCollum.
The Bucs being 0-3 and McCollum being on a relatively reasonable contract is why the Lions could add him, according to Mike Payton of A to Z Sports.
“McCollum could step right into Detroit’s secondary and give them a long-term answer opposite D.J. Reed,” noted Payton.
McCollum is in his fifth NFL season and is 27 years old. He has 45 career starts.
Detroit Lions Could Trade for Tampa Bay Buccaneers CB Zyon McCollum
The Bucs took McCollum in the fifth round of the 2022 NFL Draft, and he has developed into a quality starter. He only started in three games as a rookie. However, he jumped up to nine games as a starter in his second NFL season as he started to lock down a starting spot.
In year three, he started in all 17 games and looked like a legitimate starting cornerback. So, the team inked him to a three-year, $48M extension before the final year of his rookie deal.
McCollum was banged up after signing the deal and only played in 13 games. However, he has been healthy this year and has been a solid starter for three weeks.
If the Lions added McCollum, they would acquire a player for his age 27 through 29 seasons. He has two years left on his deal after the season. The Lions would have cap hits of $19M over those two years to worry about over that time.
However, that is much less than what Porter was expected to take up, as he was looking to set the market with his new deal.
Beyond that, Payton projects McCollum fetching a third-round pick. So, he would take up less on the cap and would cost less draft capital. McCollum is tall, athletic, and still has prime years left. This is not a bad pivot.
Buccaneers Could Trade McCollum
The Bucs have a good reason to trade McCollum as well. First, they are 0-3, so the season is not looking promising. More than that, the duo of Jacob Parrish and Benjamin Morrison are starting to ascend in year two.
Parrish was a slot player as a rookie, and Morrison had injury issues. Parrish has moved to the outside and has looked good. Morrison has been healthy and played well when given chances.
Tampa Bay can add a pick; they can offload some money, and they still have two young cornerbacks to develop. Meanwhile, the Lions have a big need without many resources in-house.
Now that Porter is off the board, the Lions’ attention might shift to McCollum.
Lions Urged to Pivot to $48 Million Cornerback in Trade