Detroit Lions free agency predictions: Tahir Whitehead
By Zac Snyder
Why he could be gone
At 27-years old (28 before the start of next season), this could be Tahir Whithead’s chance at the biggest contract of his career. His return to the Lions two years ago felt like something that happened because the deal he thought he could get didn’t materialize. After a bounceback season and a weak crop of free agent linebackers, Whitehead could be an appealing option for a team looking for a veteran linebacker.
At the very least, no one would fault Whitehead for waiting until free agency opens to see his options and anything can happen once a player is on the open market.
Even if the Lions would like Whitehead back, there may be a dollar figure at which they would decide to move forward without him. Whitehead may have been the team’s best linebacker last season but he certainly isn’t a candidate for the franchise tag and isn’t a “retain at all costs” type of player.
Moving on would likely mean a commitment to a major youth movement as Matt Patricia gets to mold a fresh group into his vision. It also means investing one or more draft picks into the linebacker position for the second year in a row.
That’s an awful lot of draft capital into one position but remaking the linebacking corps could make sense as Patricia remakes the Lions defense. It will just come with growing pains along the way.