Detroit Lions: Top Five Quarterbacks They Must Trade for Now
By Bob Heyrman
The Detroit Lions backup quarterback situation is less than ideal. The team has Tom Savage, who is a decent second-string quarterback, but his ability to remain healthy is becoming a constant concern. David Fales and Josh Johnson at the moment will battle for the third-string spot, but are there better avenues to explore?
Detroit Lions backup quarterback Tom Savage has been in the concussion protocol now four times over the last three seasons. There is one-hit seems to continue to resurface in my mind. As a member of the Houston Texans, Savage to a hit along the sideline in a game against the San Francisco 49ers and appeared to have a seizure after the hit. Terrifying!
Savage is a capable backup, he’s started 9 NFL games, and has played in 13 total, but after completing just two passes in the Detroit Lions preseason opener and being sacked a couple of times, he wasn’t able to survive. After hitting his head on the turf and suffering an accidental knee to the helmet on the same play, Savage slammed his helmet on the sideline in disgust and wouldn’t reappear from the locker room for the remainder of the evening.
The Detroit Lions were forced to work out both Landry Jones and journeyman Josh Johnson to back up Matthew Stafford as David Fales was the only other healthy quarterback on the roster. It’s hard to judge Fales from the first preseason game against the Patriots because the Lions second-string offensive line couldn’t block a paper bag drifting in the wind. It’s not fair to thoroughly evaluate Fales on that one performance. That being said, I’m not confident he’d be the best option available.
Josh Johnson is 33-years old; he’s started eight games throughout his career and owns a 1-7 record with 8 touchdown passes to go along with 14 interceptions. The journeyman has been under contract with many teams (9), but he’s only appeared in games with Tampa Bay, Cincinnati, Cleveland, San Francisco, and most recently the Washington Redskins last season. Even though I’d feel oddly more comfortable with Johnson as the Lions third quarterback over Fales, it’s still not an ideal situation. Plus not many teams are interested in keeping three QB’s rostered these days.
If the Detroit Lions decide to keep Tom Savage as their second quarterback, I feel the team may have to keep three. I don’t think the Detroit Lions can risk the health of Savage in case the ever so durable Matt Stafford goes down with an injury.
So, if the Lions aren’t opposed to moving on from Tom Savage, general manager Bob Quinn can pick up the phone and make a move for a more stable backup. The team hasn’t had a trustworthy backup QB since Shaun Hill. Here are a few options to consider trading a mid to late-round draft pick for;