Spectrum (March 2020): Lions Trade Slay, Add New Pieces

Lions Trade Slay, Add New Pieces

Trey Heager ‘20 Staff Writer

The Detroit Lions’ offseason moves might just show some hope for the 2020 season.

Coming off of an injury-plagued 3-12-1 2019 season, the Lions look to bolster previously shallow position groups, namely, the defensive backs group.

The Lions saw injuries to a number of their key defensive backs last season, leading to a situation in which opposing quarterbacks could almost do whatever they wanted with the gaping holes in the Lions’ secondary. The Lions have signed a total of four cornerbacks and safeties at this point in the offseason, while trading away three-time Pro Bowl corner Darius Slay.

As good a player as he may be, the Slay trade may be a blessing to a Lions locker room and fan base that have struggled to get behind third year head coach Matt Patricia (Slay and Patricia have had a number of public off-field disagreements).

Additionally, according to the majority of the latest mock drafts, the Lions are expected to take Ohio State safety Jeffrey Okudah with the third overall pick, which could add to the influx of secondary talent needed to be competitive this fall.

Other noteworthy signees for the Lions include linebacker Jamie Collins Sr. (three years, $30 million) and offensive tackle Halapoulivaati Vaitai (five years, $45 million), both of whom are coming off of successful seasons in New England and Philadelphia, respectively. The Lions have also signed quarterback Chase Daniel to a 3-year, $13.05 million deal. This is important because starter, Matthew Stafford, was injury-plagued in 2019, having missed the final eight games of the season due to a fractured back.

Ultimately, the same question remains for the Lions and their notoriously tortured fan base: “Will there be improvement this year?”

As every Lions fan knows, the seasons with the most hope can often end in the most failure.

However, with a strong level of new talent coming to the roster as well as the opportunity for Stafford to play a complete season under second year offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell, it seems that this 2020 team may have the chance to break the seemingly endless trend of disappointment.