The NFL legal tampering period opened up on Monday, leading to a bunch of movement around the league. While the Detroit Lions upgraded the center position early by signing Cade Mays, they also watched multiple players leave the Motor City.
Defensive tackle Roy Lopez left to sign with the Arizona Cardinals, followed by the Lions losing their backup quarterback. ESPN's Adam Schefter reported that quarterback Kyle Allen is signing with the Buffalo Bills on a two-year, $4.1 million deal that could go up to $6.1 million.
As such, the Lions are now in search of a new backup quarterback, and based on the names left on the market, the options aren't exciting.
Lions Need a New QB2 with Kyle Allen Leaving in Free Agency
Guys like Russell Wilson, Zach Wilson, Tyrod Taylor, Trey Lance, Joe Flacco, Jimmy Garoppolo, Carson Wentz, and Josh Johnson are some quarterbacks out there. Flacco and Garoppolo are the two best options, but the odds are slim that they come over to Detroit.
Garoppolo was linked to the Cardinals, but it appears he'll return to the Rams. Meanwhile, Flacco made it clear he wants an "opportunity to at least compete for a starting job," but if he's a backup, there's a good shot he goes back to the Cincinnati Bengals, per NFL Network's Tom Pelissero.
Russell Wilson's best days are behind him. Wentz has been linked to the Jets after they hired Frank Reich, while Taylor and Johnson can't be leaned on to be QB2 at this stage of their careers. Meanwhile, Zach Wilson and Lance haven't found any success in the NFL since getting drafted in 2021.
The options are very bleak, making this a concern for the Lions. Detroit has been very lucky with Jared Goff's health since trading for him in 2021. He's played in 82 of 85 games with the Lions, including four straight seasons with 17 games started in the regular season.
Detroit hasn't had to worry about its backup QB coming into the game, but that doesn't mean it shouldn't. Detroit knows how quickly things can go south if a team doesn't have an adequate backup.
The Lions may have to roll the dice on one of these guys, or they could use other outlets to get better. The trade market and NFL draft are options for this club. Regardless, Detroit will need to find someone to be its backup for 2026.
No one in the free agent market would give them this team confidence, but that's the reality of the situation. The Lions added Allen to the team last offseason, and the partnership lasted only one year before he bolted town.
General manager Brad Holmes and head coach Dan Campbell now must get creative to find a suitable answer.