Ok settle down. I know how Lions fans get about nearly every last man on their favorite teams roster. The truth is, there’s some guys on this roster that teams might be interested in that either aren’t working out for the Lions or are players the Lions may be looking to move in order to get an upgrade or becasue they already got an upgrade. So there’s going to be a reason why most of these guys are on this list.
Let’s jump into it.
Let’s just rip this first one off like a band-aid. Houston has been in trade rumors for quite a while now. I’m talking going back to August before the cut down. There’s a reason for this. The rest of the NFL sees a young kid that could be a great pass rusher for the rest of his career. The Lions see that too, but I’m not sure they see much else out of him. This is not me saying that he can’t do it, but right now it looks like Houston is a bit one dimensional. He can pass rush, but what else can he do?
That’s where it gets hard. Houston was the Lions backup SAM linebacker in Week 1 before he got hurt. He didn’t have the greatest game and he only played 21 snaps. It just feels like the Lions maybe feel they have more weapons around that can be on the field longer. It might be better for Houston and his growth to be somewhere where he can get more playing time.
If they don’t trade him, it’ll make sense. If they do, it’ll make sense. There should be teams calling for sure. Houston fractured his ankle in Week 2. He’s eligible to return as of this past Monday. We’ll see if he does in the next 14 days.
Allow me to galaxy brain for a moment here. The Lions have made it no secret that they’d like to activate Hendon Hooker at some point this season. He’s eligible to do that as of last week. If he’s activated in the next 14 days, then the Lions have three quarterbacks and then they have to make some room on the roster.
It’s risky, but what if that room comes from trading away Bridgewater? The reason I say it is becasue there are teams like the Bears, Raiders or Titans that just lost their quarterbacks for some time. The Lions could offer them Bridgewater and take advantage of some neediness. Perhaps a nice day high three pick would get the job done? something like a 5th round pick.
This is super risky and I would fully understand the Lions straying away from doing it. I would also understand why they did it if they pulled it off.
The Marvin Jones come back hasn’t really worked out for the Lions. I’m not sure that’s on Jones. The Lions really love to spread it around and there’s just a strong group of guys ahead of Jones that are going to get looks before he does. That doesn’t mean he doesn’t have any value anymore.
There could be a team out there that’s looking for a veteran presence like the Panthers do with Adam Thielan for example. Jones is a solid leader and he can catch the ball when you throw it his way. There’s a lot more opportunity for him elsewhere. I think he still has a lot left in him too. I think other teams might also feel that way.
There’s a caveat here. If the Lions decide to go out and upgrade along the interior, Jones could be traded. You might notice that his usage as already started to dip since Isaiah Buggs has come back. Jones is also struggling a bit this season. He did have a good game against the Bucs on Sunday, but he’s been having some trouble the rest of the way and you can see that the team is starting to give more and more to Buggs and Levi Onwuzuirke as the weeks go on.
It won’t be long before the Lions begin to work Brodric Martin in more and then what happens to Jones? There’s bound to be a team out there that needs help along their interior and Jones could be their man.