The Detroit Lions have an unexpected vacancy at cornerback after the release of Cameron Sutton following his domestic battery charges, and one report suggests they could find an All-Pro replacement in free agency.
The Lions cut ties with Sutton after police in Florida announced that he was wanted on battery charges and asked the public for help in locating him. While the legal situation is still pending, the Lions announced on March 21 that they had released Sutton.
The Lions had already been addressing their secondary with a series of moves in free agency, but the team will now be forced to replace a player who often drew the assignment of covering opponents’ No. 1 receivers. Bleacher Report’s Gary Davenport suggested a replacement, naming the Lions as a top contender to land former Miami Dolphins cornerback Xavien Howard.
Lions Urged to Add Veteran Cornerback
Davenport noted that the Lions already needed more help in the secondary even before Sutton’s release, and could be even more aggressive in seeking help now that he’s gone.
“The cornerback position was already something of a weak spot for the Detroit Lions, and the recent release of Cameron Sutton following domestic battery charges in Florida just makes the need all the more pressing,” Davenport wrote.
he Detroit Lions have an unexpected vacancy at cornerback after the release of Cameron Sutton following his domestic battery charges, and one report suggests they could find an All-Pro replacement in free agency.
The Lions cut ties with Sutton after police in Florida announced that he was wanted on battery charges and asked the public for help in locating him. While the legal situation is still pending, the Lions announced on March 21 that they had released Sutton.
The Lions had already been addressing their secondary with a series of moves in free agency, but the team will now be forced to replace a player who often drew the assignment of covering opponents’ No. 1 receivers. Bleacher Report’s Gary Davenport suggested a replacement, naming the Lions as a top contender to land former Miami Dolphins cornerback Xavien Howard.
Lions Urged to Add Veteran Cornerback
Davenport noted that the Lions already needed more help in the secondary even before Sutton’s release, and could be even more aggressive in seeking help now that he’s gone.
“The cornerback position was already something of a weak spot for the Detroit Lions, and the recent release of Cameron Sutton following domestic battery charges in Florida just makes the need all the more pressing,” Davenport wrote.
The common saying is every team meets with every player at the NFL Combine, and there is certainly truth to that. But when it comes to formal meetings at the combine, each team is only allotted 45 throughout the entire week. That may sound like a lot, but with over 300 prospects expected to descend upon Indianapolis, teams have to be selective about their process.
And with a team like the Detroit Lions—who value character almost above everything else—these formal meetings are a critical part of their week. Take, for example, coach Dan Campbell’s answer to why he loves being at the NFL Combine:
“Really the interview process, to get with these guys, is what I really look forward to,” Campbell said. “You’re gonna be able to see them workout, you’re gonna see the combine, the pro days, watch the tape, but to be able to just kinda feel their personality, their FBI (football intelligence), the problem solving — things of that nature. That’s the real benefit, I know, for me.”
And if you’ve ever watched the Lions-produced series “Inside the Den,” you know that many of the players the team has drafted got a thorough character evaluation through these meetings at the NFL Combine.
So we’re going to be tracking all of the Lions’ reported visits throughout the week of the NFL Combine, in addition to any other pre-draft visits, including “top-30” visits, local pro days, or any informal meetings along the way.
The tracker will sort both by type of visit and position, and we’ll include both the source of the news and specify the type of visit.
Note: This list should not be expected to be comprehensive, as plenty of these visits go under-the-radar, and sometimes there is conflation between “formal” and “informal” visits with teams. We will not be tracking confirmed informal NFL Combine visits, as nearly every player qualifies for that.
Leave a Reply