Ryan Grant, and the Detroit Lions RB situation

So, the big news as we headed into the weekend was that the Detroit Lions had made progress in signing RB Ryan Grant. He of course the free agent back that last played with the Green Bay Packers. Of course we have also heard that both Jahvid Best and Mikel Leshoure will both recover from injuries and the Lions front office is ready to head into the pre-season with them plus Kevin Smith as their primary backs. I really think there is two different things go on here, and they are sort of unrelated.

There is no way to actually tell what is going on with Grant without being in the room when the actual negotiations are going on. It was reported by the Detroit Free Press that a signing was imminent. However, as Grant has yet to appear at the Lions practice facility that doesn’t actually seem to be the case. In all likelihood Grant’s agent is simply playing the Lions against the Packers (and whoever else) to get the best deal for his client. At 30 years old Grant would fit in nice with the Lions even if Leshoure and Best return to form.

With that being said there has to be a backup plan in place before training camps start, or as soon as a manageable contract is found that can come in and be the insurance policy should Leshoure and/or Best are unable to return to form. While Leshoure’s’ injury concerns me, Best’s seems to be the more troubling injury. He has had several concussions going back to college and those take a toll on a player, and I have serious doubts if he will ever return. Leshoure is more on an unknown quantity especially considering he is likely to face some kind of suspension over this off season’s alleged misdeeds.

What all of that means to me is the Lions need to start training camp with at least one (and quite possibly two) other RB’s on the roster. Who the winds up being is anyone’s guess right now, I just see a need to shore up the ground attack and have little faith that the guys on the roster as of right now will get that done. We shall see how this lays out over the summer.