Detroit Lions: Injuries should spark a fire sale for future assets
By Bob Heyrman
The Detroit Lions have now lost seven straight home games. That is typically not something you’d expect from a team hoping to be in playoff contention. After suffering a plethora of impactful injuries Sunday, the Detroit Lions should be sellers before the 4 PM EST deadline today.
If the game result Sunday wasn’t bad enough, things just got a lot worse for the Detroit Lions. The organization suffered a pair of devastating injuries. Detroit lost its enormous free-agent edition from a year ago, Trey Flowers, with an undisclosed injury.
Detroit placed Flowers, who is in the second year of his massive $90-million deal that spans over five seasons. Flowers lands on the injured list and is expected to be sidelined beyond the mandatory three weeks.
With Flowers expected to miss significant time, the trade to add veteran defensive end Everson Griffen now becomes extremely important for the organization. Griffen is expected to step right in Sunday and replace Flowers against his former team, the Minnesota Vikings.
More from Detroit Jock City
- Tigers Sign Manager A.J. Hinch to Long-Term Extension
- Lions vs. Bears Week 14 Opening Odds Disrespect Detroit
- Former Tigers Celebrate Jim Leyland Hall of Fame Call
- This Pistons Team Could be the Worst in Detroit Sports History
- 4 Free Agents Tigers Should Sign During Winter Meetings
A week ago, when general manager Bob Quinn made a deal with Jerry Jones to acquire Griffen, the organization clearly felt they were in the playoff hunt. While I believe it’s a false hope, things didn’t change much over the weekend with both the teams Detroit is chasing in the standings also lost. Both the Green Bay Packers and Chicago Bears lost, leaving the Lions just two wins behind with a string of winnable games on the horizon.
Detroit will lock up with the 2-5 Vikings Sunday, followed by the 2-5 Washington Football Team, 3-5 Panthers, and 1-6 Texans. The Lions will have an opportunity to gain some momentum in the coming weeks.
I believe the organization will win a few of these games, but in the end, they still miss out on the playoffs and wish they had opted to sell at the trade deadline for future assets instead of limping to the finish line.
The Detroit Lions also lost star receiver Kenny Golladay to a hip injury that head coach Matt Patricia remains New England-like mum on so far. Some have suggested that the damage may also land Golladay on the injured list.
Golladay was held without a catch in Sunday’s 41-21 loss on four targets. Golladay did not appear in the second half of Sunday’s contest, and it was oddly a fair tradeoff from a competitive standpoint since the Colts top pass-catcher T.Y. Hilton was also absent from Sunday’s second half.
Related Story. Are the Detroit Lions buyers or sellers at the NFL trade deadline?. light
The Detroit Lions have some desirable pieces that are pending free agents. The organization has the opportunity to move the recently acquired Griffen along with Jarrad Davis, Marvin Jones, Danny Amendola, Adrian Peterson, and perhaps Golladay if Quinn is hoping to land significant draft capital.