Quote:D6, I'm pretty curious to hear what you think the Lions are going to do with Ndamukong this offseason. Are you guys potentially losing anyone else to FA who the Jags might target? Kinda curious about Nick Fairley as well.
By the way, I'm sure I'm preaching to the quire here, but you guys got hosed in that playoff game. I hope I can hate the cowboys at least half as much as you must.
Thanks, Treestone Ice.
The playoff loss to the Cowboys still is unsettling. I've never seen a play before this when Pass Interference was called, then announced by the Referee, then erased. Being that the NFL admitted that Defensive Holding should have been called earlier on that play, at the very least it should have been a 1st Down. There's no way of knowing what would have happened if the Lions would had a 1st Down. But not knowing what would have happened is what makes the situation especially difficult.
Re-signing Ndamukong Suh is the top priority of the Lions. If the Lions don't sign Suh as the deadline to tag a player approaches, I think there's a 50-50 chance he will get the Franchise Tag. This despite the near $ 27 million it will cost on this year's salary cap. If the Lions don't tag Suh and he hits the open market, a team with much more salary cap space will probably land him.
If the Lions aren't able to re-sign Suh and decide not to tag him, I do think there's a pretty good chance Nick Fairley will be re-signed. Fairley finally got his weight under control in 2015, after being demoted from the 1st Team in training camp. Unfortunately, he suffered a season ending knee injury in the comeback win over the Falcons in London. Fairley's tangible stats didn't jump out in the 8 games he played but he got plenty of pressure on the opposing QB's. Because of the durability factor and Fairley still having a case pending in the legal system from 2012, it's very hard to predict what his market value will be. This is a classic case where a one or two year contract seems to make sense for both parties.
DE George Johnson, who was a find as a street FA, is scheduled to be a FA this year. Johnson might be someone the Jaguars look at in terms of providing depth at the Leo position . He was the Lions 3rd best DE this season and ended up effectively replacing Willie Young, who had a very good season with the Bears before tearing his Achilles tendon against the Lions in Game # 15.
It's possible, not probable, the Jaguars could have interest in bringing Rashean Mathis back. Mathis will turn 35 later this year but had two good seasons with the Lions. He wants to come back to the Lions but it comes down to both sides reaching an agreement. Mathis' leadership skills have made a huge difference in the development of CB Darius Slay.
Another former Jaguar that had a good season for the Lions and is an UFA is C.J. Mosley. Other than the one game suspension, Mosley was an asset for the Lions. While Mosley doesn't have Fairley's ability, he more than held his own as a starter in the 2nd half of the season.
A player that's very underrated that the Jaguars might have interest in is T Corey Hilliard. He missed the last 15 games of the season because of a foot injury. But when he did play in prior seasons and in the pre-season, Hilliard was an effective ( not dominate ) all around RT. With enough versaility to play all Offensive Line positions other than Center. The Lions had a very high winning % in the games that Hilliard started over the years.
