Detroit Lions could be looking at housecleaning after 2020
The Detroit Lions need to value up the standings. If they don’t, look for a massive shakeup.
Last year, Detroit struggled to a 3-12-1 campaign, earning the No. 3 overall pick. In the offseason, general manager Bob Quinn traded disgruntled star cornerbacks Darius Slay to the Philadelphia Eagles for third and fifth-round picks in the 2020 draft. The value seemed low then, and certainly now after the New York Jets sent safety Jamal Adams to the Seattle Seahawks for a pair. of first-round choices and a third-round pick.
In Detroit, Quinn is entering his fourth season while head coach Matt Patricia is going into his third. The Lions have gone 9-22-1 under the latter’s guidance.
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Should Motown go through another painful season, there are ample reasons to expect Quinn, Patricia and quarterback Matthew Stafford to all be elsewhere in 2021.
For starters, new ownership. This June, Sheila Ford Hemp took over as principal owner from her mother, Martha Firestone Ford. When there is a new face in the owner’s suite, it usually means change is coming if the franchise is struggling. Why? Because the new owner wants to put their stamp on the team.
In the cases of Quinn and Patricia, it’s obvious why each would go. Both have had time to turn things around and neither has done a good job. In fact, the team has gotten worse in each of the past three years, trending from playoff contender to doormat.
As for Stafford, it’s a bit more complicated.
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Stafford has been with the Lions since they took him with the No. 1 overall pick out of Georgia in 2009. However, he only played eight games last season and his contract allows Detroit to save $14 million if he’s released prior to the 2021 season. If the Lions made the move as a post-June 1 designation, it would save an additional $9.5 million.
Should Detroit go through another woeful year, it might decide to completely reset. If that’s the case, Stafford could be released with the salary cap potentially going down to $175 million, while the Lions look to draft one o the three top-tier quarterbacks in Trevor Lawrence, Trey Lance or Justin Fields.
Perhaps the Detroit Lions surprise and make progress. However, if it’s another lost, ugly year in Detroit, look for changes abound at the three most important positions in the organization.
