Detroit Lions: Has Bob Quinn Used Too Much Restraint?

Free agency is exciting for fans, but an exercise in discipline for general managers, but Detroit Lions GM Bob Quinn may be showing too much restraint.

Many fans want their favorite team to go out and spend freely in free agency. They want their team to sign the best players at multiple positions, and they want their team to keep spending until the money runs out. Sometimes, when it comes to the Detroit Lions, I am guilty of this unbridled enthusiasm too.

Early on, before the free agency preiod began, the fan in me was hoping the Lions would sign cornerback Sean Smith (Raiders), offensive tackle Russell Okung (Broncos) and defensive lineman Muhammad Wilkerson (franchised by the Jets). I was also hoping Detroit would re-sign safety Isa Abdul-Quddus (Dolphins) and linebacker Tahir Whitehead (re-signed by Detroit).

That was my free agent pipe-dream for the Lions this offseason, and I knew it. It didn’t happen.

The slightly more realistic fan in me hoped for wide receiver Marvin Jones, cornerback Leon Hall, defensive lineman Jaye Howard, any quality starting offensive tackle and re-signing Abdul-Quddus and Whitehead. That didn’t happen either, and for good reason.

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GMs know that spending wildly in free agency doesn’t necessarily result in more wins the next season. Not every free agent works out. Sometimes they get injured, sometimes they just don’t live up to expectations. Good general managers know this, and spend selectively in free agency – filling some needs in free agency while leaving other needs for the draft.

History shows us that teams who spend sparingly in free agency, and build the bulk of their team through the draft – like the Patriots, Packers, Steelers – often have more sustained success than teams who spend their money like an unbridled fan might.

So it should be no surprise that new Lions GM Bob Quinn, who spent the past 15 plus seasons with the Patriots, would approach free agency in such a deliberate and disciplined way.

And us Lions fans should just trust the process, satisfied that Bob Quinn knows what he’s doing, and doesn’t need our help. This is what I keep telling myself, but as the offseason winds on, I am starting to worry Bob Quinn may have approached this offseason with too much restraint, with too much discipline, and without enough gusto or fandom.

When Calvin Johnson announced his retirement on the eve of free agency, the Lions were about $40 million under the salary cap. They had plenty of money to spend to improve their team. They also had plenty of areas that needed improving.

So where have the Lions spent the bulk of their resources thus far? They replaced Calvin Johnson with Marvin Jones. Marvin Jones isn’t Calvin Johnson and no one expects him to be, but he was one of the best free agent receivers available. Detroit probably overpaid for him, but the need was pressing and Jones will help Detroit immediately and moving forward.

The defensive tackle and defensive back positions were bolstered as well. The Lions re-signed tackles Haloti Ngata and Tyrunn Walker, signed Stefan Charles and tried to (but couldn’t) sign Akiem Hicks. In the secondary, the Lions signed safeties Tavon Wilson, Rafael Bush, Johnson Bademosi and cornerback Darrin Walls.

The Lions also re-signed linebacker Tahir Whitehead, who will be a key part of the linebacking unit.

So what’s wrong with the moves Quinn has made? The Jones signing makes total sense. The Lions had a big need and they filled it. Even so, Jones is no Calvin Johnson, so the Lions are worse at receiver today than they were at the end of the season. That’s not Quinn’s fault, but it is the truth.

Re-signing Whitehead makes sense too. He is versatile, has played well when given an opportunity, he knows the system, is young enough that he can still improve, and comes at price tag cheaper than someone like Danny Trevathan.

Unfortunately, most of the other moves by Quinn are inconsequential or questionable at best. Ngata, Walker, and Charles are all defensive tackles with potential, but the only one signed to a deal longer than one year is Ngata, and his game is plateaued, if not declining.

This means, next year the position could be in need once again, which makes it feel like Quinn hasn’t really upgraded a position that clearly needed improvement.

Wilson, and Bademosi are career backups, so they have not yet proven to be starting caliber players in the NFL. Bush has been a starter, but he has also been injury prone. Abdul-Quddus could have been re-signed, giving the Lions another young, versatile player with room to improve his game, in a system he’s familiar with.

Ultimately, the Lions decided Abdul-Quddus wasn’t worth the contract he got from the Miami Dolphins. Regardless, it’s hard to believe the Lions have improved their safety position.

These moves, combined with the lack of moves on the offensive line and defensive end front, have me worried. Going into the offseason the Lions had pressing needs at wide receiver defensive tackle, and offensive tackle(s), with question marks at the linebacker, tight end, and safety positions.

Now, just weeks away from the draft the Lions still have question marks at all of those positions.

That being the case, I hope Bob Quinn knows some things we don’t.

I hope he knows that Michael Ola and Riley Reiff are better than we think, that Geoff Schwartz is more versatile than we ever imagined, that Jeremy Kerley just needs more opportunities to shine, that Rafael Bush and Tavon Wilson are better than Isa Abdul-Quddus, that Tyrunn Walker and Stefan Charles will be really good this year and then gladly re-sign with Detroit next offseason, that Tim Wright will be a more effective second tight-end than Jared Cook and that Devin Taylor is ready to be a starting defensive end (if Jason Jones is indeed not returning to Detroit).

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If most of those things are true, the Lions will be just fine. If not, we all better hope Bob Quinn is an absolute draft wizard. He’ll have to hit the jackpot on every single one of Detroit’s picks in the upcoming draft to improve the team this offseason.

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Detroit Lions: Has GM Bob Quinn Used Too Much Restraint This Offseason?

By Eli Kaplan | Mar 31, 2016

Free agency is exciting for fans, but an exercise in discipline for general managers, but Detroit Lions GM Bob Quinn may be showing too much restraint.