Copyright yardbarker
The Detroit Lions have finally addressed the depth chart issues that haunted them last season and clouded their outlook. It took patience, trust, and some creative roster moves to get there. The talk of the town revolved around what the Detroit Lions were missing. Early complaints in the season were about the lack of a reliable second edge rusher. Going into Week 6, Brian Branch and Kerby Joseph were questionable, and fans were worried. Then, a week later, Branch was temporarily suspended, and Joseph was entirely out. The worst part? Baker Mayfield, who was starting to look like an MVP candidate, was coming to town with Mike Evans. Closer to the line of scrimmage, the Lions lost Avonte Maddox, Terrion Arnold, Khalil Dorsey, and D.J. Reed to injuries. Everyone mentioned so far makes up the majority of the Lions’ defensive starters. Yet, unlike last year, the Lions have found serviceable replacements. Lions Defensive Replacements Over the last few weeks of the Lions’ season, some non-starters have stolen the spotlight: Al-Quadin Muhammed, Rock Ya-Sin, Erick Hallett, Arthur Maulet, Tyler Lacy, Thomas Harper, and Nick Whiteside. These players were not on many fans’ radar earlier than a few weeks ago. Muhammed gained popularity in Baltimore, and Ya-Sin has been quietly contributing all season. Both players had been traveling around the NFL before this year. Nick Whiteside was picked up for the practice squad in October and made himself a hero just three weeks later. The Lions’ final roster addition was Harper, whose signing drew complaints that he was not an edge rusher. These players were not household names in the Lions community, and most probably did not know their names before the Buccaneers game. The front office of the Lions franchise proved to the NFL that great talent and winning teams don’t require big trades and costly contracts. Detroit, in fact, has the fourth most cap space this season. The Lions’ transaction board may be something to keep an eye on. Within a matter of weeks, the Detroit Lions turned from a team that teetered on reliability to a dominant contender without doing anything more than calling up their practice squad. Off the Field Risk Taking Dan Campbell, Brad Holmes, and the Lions’ coaching staff have put up a valiant effort in building a team around a culture. When NFL analysts and know-it-alls try to tell them one thing, they ignore them, throw in a UFL cornerback, and watch him knock down a fourth-down pass in the endzone.
