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ALLEN PARK, Mich. — The Detroit Lions haven’t made many upgrades to the roster compared to last season, but new general manager Bob Quinn said at the end of March that he thinks the team is better now than when he arrived in January.
“I think it’s better all the way around,” he said. “I really do. There’s certain positions that we need to do some more work and we’re working toward those, but I think the overall depth of the team is better.”
Exactly where the roster is better is unclear, though it’d be fair for Quinn to have assumed Calvin Johnson was going to retire when rumors surfaced in early January before Quinn took over.
At wide receiver, the Lions are better now than they were when free agency began on March 9, a day after Johnson officially retired. Marvin Jones, who spent the past four years with Cincinnati, should give the team a solid starting duo with Golden Tate. Jeremy Kerley, formerly of the Jets, will compete for the No. 3 job with TJ Jones and any rookies who come aboard.
Without many obvious upgrades, it seems the team thinks the best way to be better in 2016 is by hoping quarterback Matthew Stafford plays like he did in the second half of 2015, and that the return of linebacker DeAndre Levy from a hip injury will improve the defense.
Defensive tackle was another position where the team was active, but the Lions didn’t improve the unit. They re-signed Haloti Ngata and Tyrunn Walker and added rotational option Stefan Charles.
Safety was another spot the Lions failed to upgrade. Last year’s starter Isa Abdul-Quddus signed with the Dolphins, and top backup James Ihedigbo won’t return. And the Lions filled the void with Rafael Bush, formerly of the Saints, and Tavon Wilson, formerly of the Patriots. Neither player would be an immediate upgrade.
Really, the best thing the Lions did so far in free agency was attempt to improve the special teams unit. Cornerback Johnson Bademosi was a special teams star in Cleveland and should play a key role in that phase for the Lions. Wilson and Kerley could be a factor on special teams, too.
Besides Ngata and Walker, the Lions re-signed linebacker Tahir Whitehead, who should start in the middle. Backup quarterback Dan Orlovsky, long snapper Don Muhlbach, cornerback Crezdon Butler and tight end Tim Wright are back, too.
Some of the other additions the Lions made since the start of the league year were offensive lineman Geoff Schwartz, cornerback Darrin Walls, defensive end Wallace Gilberry, running back Stevan Ridley and tight end Matthew Mulligan.
Looking ahead, the Lions still need help at defensive end, strong safety and along the offensive line. They will likely add a couple more bargain free agents, but the team appears more interested in using its remaining cap space on some contract extensions for players from the 2013 draft class, including cornerback Darius Slay.
Packers offseason review and draft preview
GREEN BAY — Contrary to overwhelming public opinion, the Packers have been active so far this offseason.
Consider that:
–They re-signed veteran defensive tackle Letroy Guion to a three-year, $11.25 million deal shortly after last season ended, a prudent move that came a month before starting nose tackle B.J. Raji decided as a free agent to quit football for at least a season.
–They rewarded kicker Mason Crosby, the team’s scoring leader, with a sweet four-year contract of more than $16 million before he reached free agency in March.
–They brought back two other key players by re-signing No. 2 halfback James Starks and situational outside linebacker Nick Perry as unrestricted free agents to two- and one-year deals, respectively.
–Last but not least, general manager Ted Thompson made the rare splash that has long convinced people the Packers don’t do much by way of offseason acquisitions when they signed veteran tight end Jared Cook to a one-year, $2.75 million contract as March ended.
Those moves have more than offset what few losses Green Bay has incurred this spring – nickel back Casey Hayward and No. 2 quarterback Scott Tolzien signed with the San Diego Chargers and Indianapolis Colts, respectively.
“Free agency is a long process,” head coach Mike McCarthy said a few days before the Cook signing. “We’ve been pretty fortunate that most years we try to get our own (players) back and then see what else fits. I think that’s a reflection of our philosophy.”
Among their unsigned free agents, the Packers remain open to having outside linebacker Mike Neal and Pro Bowl fullback John Kuhn back, but they are moving on without veteran receiver James Jones.
Of course, the Green Bay way under Thompson the last 11 years has included a lot of drafting and developing players.
With the April 28 start of the draft looming, the Packers are poised to address what few needs they have and bolster depth at other positions.
“I’ve always focused on our own goals,” McCarthy said. “I’m always open to improving our football team from the outside, but the draft has always been our lifeline, and that’s where the majority of our emphasis goes in the offseason.
“Just because we don’t sign anybody, we are active on free agents. Whether we sign them or we don’t is a different matter.”
The signing of Cook, a salary-cap casualty for the Los Angeles Rams in February, suggests Thompson will have a defense-first mentality going into this year’s draft.
Tight end had been one of the team’s most pressing needs. Not anymore as Green Bay pairs the playmaking Cook with budding third-year player Richard Rodgers.
The Packers still must address depth concerns on the offensive line, particularly at tackle and also thinking long-term with three starters (guards Josh Sitton and T.J. Lang as well as left tackle David Bakhtiari) in the final year of their contracts.
Just the same, the uncertainty of featured back Eddie Lacy’s future with the team as he goes into the final year of his rookie deal could prompt the selection of a running back.
Those scenarios can wait to days 2 and 3 of the draft as Green Bay figures to invest the No. 27 pick of the first round in a player who can help right away to shore up a defensive deficiency.
The Packers used two first-round selections on Raji and Clay Matthews in 2009. Interestingly, both players are at the crux of what needs to be fixed in short order – a tackle to make up for the loss of Raji and an inside linebacker to compensate for the team’s plan to shift Matthews back to the outside, where he can best flourish as a pass rusher.
“You always want to do better,” McCarthy said about upgrading the pass rush, which was a strength for the defense in 2015, when Green Bay had 43 sacks to rank seventh in the league. “I think the biggest thing is the pressures. We’re getting there, we’re creating matchups, and you look at it, it was definitely a positive.
“(But) you don’t just stop there. It can be better.”
Still to be determined in the next few weeks is which direction Thompson will go first in the draft as his preferred way of keeping the Packers atop the NFC North and in contention for the Super Bowl. He makes no apologies for the perceived lack of inactivity in yet another offseason.
“We get better by practicing better and doing better and finding better personnel and doing all the things that we do,” Thompson said.
