Detroit Lions Two-Deep Depth Chart Heading Into Training Camp
By Zac Snyder
Middle Linebacker
1. Tahir Whitehead
2. Josh Bynes
Tahir Whitehead was an outside linebacker in college and was drafted to be an outside linebacker when the Lions took him in the fifth round of the 2012 NFL Draft. That changed when Stephen Tulloch suffered a season-ending injury early in the 2014 season and Whitehead moved into the middle.
Tulloch would recover and return to his starting middle linebacker role in 2015 but the experience in 2014 made Whitehead think of himself more as a middle linebacker than an outside linebacker. He performed well there in relief of Tulloch and re-signed this offseason on a two-year deal to return to the Lions to take over for Tulloch, who was finally released this month, as the new starting middle linebacker.
With no ready-made replacement for Tulloch already under contract and a thin crop of middle linebackers in free agency and draft, re-signing Whitehead was a key move but leaves the Lions thin behind him.
What happens if Whitehead goes down with an injury? The best answer is to move Josh Bynes over. He has experience inside and out and sliding him in helps the Lions keep their best linebackers on the field.
Next: Outside Linebacker