The Detroit Lions made a huge splash at the cornerback spot at the start of free agency, signing veteran DJ Reed to a three-year, $48 million deal. Reed is replacing Carlton Davis, who left in free agency to sign with the New England Patriots on a three-year, $54 million contract.
While Lions fans would’ve loved to see Davis stay in the Motor City and play opposite Terrion Arnold in the secondary, they are excited to see what Reed brings to the table. Since he joined the Lions, Reed has already endeared himself to the fanbase before even playing a single snap.
Over the weekend, the new Lions starting cornerback was already making Super Bowl plans on Twitter/X, saying if Detroit wins the big game, he might get a 313 tattoo.
As you can only imagine, Lions fans on social media loved to hear that from Reed and even went as far as to say not if, but when Detroit wins the Super Bowl.
The Lions looked primed to make it to the Super Bowl last season, capturing the No. 1 seed in the NFC after a dominant regular season. However, the injury bug caught up to them, and they ran into a Washington Commanders team that wasn’t afraid of the moment in the NFC divisional round.
That said, the Lions still have their core intact despite losing their coordinators and a few of their coaches this offseason. Nonetheless, Detroit should be one of the favorites to win the NFC this upcoming season, and adding Reed into the mix will go a long way.
The veteran cornerback had 64 combined tackles, 11 pass deflections, four tackles for loss, and a quarterback hit in his last season with the Jets. While Reed is on the small side to play on the outside (5-foot-9, 188 pounds), he still competes at a high level.
Last year with the Jets, he possessed a 57.1 completion percentage allowed on targets, an 87.1 pass rating allowed when targeted, and only allowed two touchdowns. If the Lions can get that same production this season, their defense should be in good shape to make that Super Bowl run.