The Detroit Lions Free agency, who will stay? who will go?

Well, it’s officially over. The Detroit Lions season ended in heart breaking fashion. While it is somewhat fun to sit and stew over Pete Morelli’s crew’s huge gaffe during the Lions Wild Card showdown with the Dallas Cowboys, we really must move on.

When a friend or a family member dies it leaves one in a period of complete shock. What just happened? How could this have happened? What do I do now? The answer is simple. You grieve. With grief, there are many stages including acceptance and the need to move on.

When that happens you find yourself going through old things forming two piles, “keep” and “throw away.” Tonight I’m going to help the Lions form those piles. Ndamukong Suh is a no brainer and thus will not be included in this  article.

Corey Hilliard

Oct 13, 2013; Cleveland, OH, USA; Detroit Lions tackle Corey Hilliard (78) against the Cleveland Browns during the third quarter at FirstEnergy Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ron Schwane-USA TODAY Sports

I’ll start us out with the offensive line and right tackle Corey Hilliard. Corey has been in Detroit since 2010 and since that time he  has been looked at like a project player. He developed for years but always played second fiddle to the likes of Gosder Cherilus or Jason Fox. As Jason Fox went down with yet another injury in 2013, it was Corey’s turn. He played in 9 games and started 7 in 2013. In that time he did not allow one sack and it appeared we had found our replacement for Cherilus.

The Lions felt the same way and granted Hilliard the starting spot at right tackle for the 2014 season. Everything looked great until he suffered a season ending Lisfranc injury in the Lions first game of the season. Luckily, Lisfranc injuries are rare and do not require surgery. For that reason and even though he is coming off an injury, I believe the Lions will hold on to Hilliard. The Lions are in dire need of a right tackle that can stay on the field, unlike the injury prone LaAdrian Waddle.

Pile: Keep