Detroit Lions Add CB D.J. Hayden on Day Two of NFL Free Agency
By Zac Snyder
The Detroit Lions continued their activity on day two of NFL free agency by agreeing to a one-year deal with cornerback D.J. Hayden.
Day two of NFL Free Agency is off to a fast start for the Detroit Lions. Adam Caplan reports this morning that the team has agreed to deal with cornerback D.J. Hayden.
#Lions agreed to terms on a 1-year deal up to $5.25 million with CB DJ Hayden, source said.
— Adam Caplan (@caplannfl) March 10, 2017
Hayden has been a disappointment since becoming the 12th overall pick in the 2013 NFL Draft (the same year the Lions got Darius Slay in the second round) by the Oakland Raiders. It was an easy decision for the Raiders to decline his fifth year option last year, setting him up to finish his rookie contract in 2016 and move on.
The Raiders got a little more out of Hayden last season by playing him primarily in the slot. Still, he finished 97th in the cornerback rankings on Pro Football Focus – two spots below Quandre Diggs.
If there is a reasonable explanation for Hayden’s status as a draft bust so far it might be that he has had a hard time staying on the field because of injury. He’s played all 16 games just once, during 2015, while missing 19 games over the course of his four NFL seasons.
The potential is still there, even if he hasn’t consistently shown it yet. This signing is an obvious reclamation project with the Lion only signing him to a one-year deal. While the money in Caplan’s tweet might look high, it’s important to note the wording that says up to $5.25 million.
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As we saw with most of the lower profile signings the Lions made last year, Hayden’s deals likely filled with playing time and performance bonuses that will be necessary to reach that dollar figure. The more the signing works out for the Lions, the more it will benefit Hayden’s bank account.