Another season has come and gone for the Lions, and pretty quick their front office is going to have to make a few decisions regarding the personnel. All told, the Lions have well over 20 players that will become free agents. Some are noteworthy, others not so much. Let's look at a few, their positions, most recent salaries, ages, and how vital they are.
Offensive guard Rob Sims. $3.7 million. Age 31. Steady O-linemen typically go underappreciated, but are an extremely valuable commodity. Without them, the running game is stuffed and the QB will be running for his life on passing plays. Sims has been a stalwart for the Lions through thick and mostly thin. Would another team pick him up? Absolutely. The Lions would be wise to resign him even if it costs them a few more bucks.
Defensive tackle Nick Fairley. $3.1 million. Age 26. Fairley can be an outstanding player one minute and turn into a total bonehead the next. It seems for every great play he makes comes a distraction. Plus lately he hasn't been able to stay healthy. Let him go. His future upsides and downsides are maybe 50-50 at best, and that's not good enough odds to shell out big bucks to keep him. The Lions have done well in his absence.
Right offensive tackle Corey Hilliard. $1.9 million. Age 29. Hilliard's had health issues as well and has never been much more than a journeyman player. If he'll take a pay cut, fine, let him come back. If not, let him test the market. Either way, Hilliard is hardly indispensable.
Outside linebacker Ashlee Palmer. $1.6 million. Age 28. Palmer can be pretty good as well at times, but he's been dinged up where he can't play. Bring him back, but don't pay over $2 million.
Backup QB Dan Orlovsky. $635,000. Age 31. The Lions were fortunate this year that former "china doll" starting QB Matthew Stafford was able to hold up for the entire season. But on any given play, disaster can happen to quarterbacks. Ask the Arizona Cardinals. A worthy backup that can step in is absolutely necessary. The Lions had him on the cheap this year at 635K, even if he didn't play much. They should not only keep him but offer him a raise -- just in case his services are necessary. A million a year sounds about right.
Third string QB Kellen Moore. $575,000. Age 25. Granted, third stringers can go through the whole season doing nothing more than holding a clip board or an iPad, and Moore's chances of moving up the depth chart on another team likely aren't so good. But until and unless the Lions draft or trade for someone to take his place -- somebody's got to do it. And if I'm Kellen Moore, 575K a year for doing basically nothing sounds pretty good. He'd likely re-up in a heartbeat for the same dough.
Long snapper Don Muhlbach. $635,000. Age 33. Muhlbach fills a very unique, though vital position for the Lions. He's the guy that snaps those perfect spirals to a punter or field goal holder. Think that's easy? Go out in your yard, bend over, and try to throw a football 45 feet backwards between your legs, let alone a fastball in the strike zone time after time. Then imagine a 300 pound brute is lined up an inch away from your head, and will crash into you the second you move the ball. Sure, Muhlbach isn't an every down center, but neither are punters and place-kickers every down players. They're specialists, and neither of the latter could function without a guy like Muhlbach first snapping the ball. The Lions should absolutely resign him, even if it costs them a few bucks more. Reliable long-snappers seldom get recognition, but are invaluable to any team.
Speaking of centers -- Dominic Raiola. $1.5 million. Age 36. Dom's a grizzled old veteran and has not only been highly praised by his teammates and local media for being a team leader over the years, but has long been a team "spokesman". In other words, he flaps his gums a lot to the above mentioned media and anybody else that will listen. But Raiola's a few other things too. Besides likely being the losingest player in the history of the NFL during his long tenure with the sad sack Lions, he's also been a loose cannon over the years as well. And also besides an occasional stomp and a variety of other cheap shots attempting to seriously injure an opponent over the years, the ever-loveable Dom has even trashed talked and flipped off Lions' fans in their own stadium. What should the Lions do? Ignore him. He's a career loser in many ways and instead of maturing, seemed to be getting more erratic and unpredictable every year. To boot, the Lions have revamped their O-line with younger guys and Dom is quite expendable. If he wants to test the waters elsewhere -- may the dark side be with him and good luck. Yet who would shell out big bucks for a 36 year old center with his track record?
Last, but not least, is the proverbial gorilla in the salary cap room. Defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh. $22.5 million. Age 28. By most accounts, Suh is a very good defensive lineman. He even got voted in as a starter for this year's Pro Bowl. He has been called a "disruptive force". Truer words have never been spoken. Suh disrupts a lot of things, from an opponent's running game to sacking their QB on occasion. But though they're loathe to admit it, he also disrupts the continuity of his teammates with some of his own not-so-good antics. Suh can be a perfect gentleman on certain occasions, but at other times run completely amok with a wanton disregard for the well-being of others. Kind of like Lon Chaney as the Wolfman when a full moon came out. Playing hard is one thing, but savagery is quite another. At least the Wolfman was predictable. When a full moon drew nigh, people could take cover to protect themselves. With Suh, it's not so simple. One never knows when he might go off again to wreak havoc -- on or off the field.
Adding to the nefarious plot are reports that Suh isn't satisfied with $22.5M. He wants more. Much more. Some say as much as $27 million per year with a long term deal. That would make him, by far, the highest paid player in the NFL, dwarfing the salaries of such guys like Peyton Manning, Aaron Rodgers, Tom Brady, etc.
Would any team be crazy enough to pony up that sort of dough? Maybe. Certainly lots of franchises would be interested in his services. But at that price, they'd have shot themselves in the foot in their ability to sign enough other good players to be contenders. One disruptive defensive lineman does not a Super Bowl contender make. Ask J.J. Watt of the Houston Texans, who might well be the MVP this year for his incredible play. And Watt's a good guy, both on and off the field. Given the salary cap, there's only so much money to go around.
What should the Lions do with Suh? He's 28, and if he stays healthy, never a given, likely has 4-5 more productive years left before Father Time starts to drag him down. So give him the benefit of the doubt and offer him a 5 year deal at a flat $20M per season. No huge signing bonus or other money up front. But also include clauses in the contract that stipulate the club can terminate his services at any time, without any future guaranteed pay, if Suh goes off the deep end. He has to earn it and keep his nose clean. Play hard, but the occasional full moon thing will not be tolerated any longer. Would his agents recommend and would Suh sign such an offer? Probably not.
So let him walk. Are we to believe Suh is worth more than Sims, Fairley, Hilliard, Palmer, Mosely, Raiola, Orlovsky, Muhlbach, Moore, and other notables like Glover Quin, Reggie Bush and Golden Tate COMBINED? More valuable to the team than Matthew Stafford?
If the Lions are dumb enough to cough up that much money for Suh, then I have a suggestion for them. Pay Bob Seger a couple million bucks a game to sing the national anthem and put on a half time show. This is a win-win-win. Seger gets a sweet gig in his own backyard, the Motown fans would love it and, after all, he'd come with the Silver Bullet Band, right?
And having them in the house could prove beneficial someday. After all, silver bullets are the only thing that can dispatch a Wolfman. If Suh reverts back into full moon mode, they'll be prepared.
Just a thought....
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