Detroit Lions: 5 Offseason Moves to make if Suh leaves
Aug 22, 2014; Seattle, WA, USA; Seattle Seahawks cornerback Jeremy Lane (20) and Seattle Seahawks cornerback Byron Maxwell (41) celebrate after Maxwell broke up a pass play during the first quarter against the Chicago Bears at CenturyLink Field. Mandatory Credit: Steven Bisig-USA TODAY Sports
Target Byron Maxwell
If Ndamukong Suh leaves town, the Lions should use some of the saved money to try and lure in cornerback Byron Maxwell. Will Maxwell follow in Golden Tate’s footsteps and swap Seattle for Detroit?
Dec 21, 2014; Glendale, AZ, USA; Seattle Seahawks cornerback Byron Maxwell (41) against the Arizona Cardinals at University of Phoenix Stadium. The Seahawks defeated the Cardinals 35-6. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
The Lions need to improve their secondary for the pass defense to catch up with the dominant run-stopping up front. Without a particularly deep class of cornerbacks in this year’s draft, they should target a player like Maxwell.
Maxwell had the best season of his career in 2014, which bodes well for him as he looks for a bigger contract. He finished 2014 with 39 combined tackles, 12 pass defenses and two interceptions.
Even without re-signing Suh, the Lions won’t exactly have a ton of cap space at their disposal, but they could still afford to make a splash on the corner.
The concern for the Lions is that there will be a lot of struggling teams with a lot of money to spend and they will potentially be happy to overspend on Maxwell.
Other free agents at the position the Lions could consider include San Diego’s Brandon Flowers and Green Bay’s Tramon Williams.
| Games | Def Interceptions | Fumbles | Sacks & Tackles | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Age | G | GS | Int | Yds | TD | Lng | PD | FF | Fmb | FR | Yds | TD | Tkl | Ast | AV |
| 2011 | 23 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |||||
| 2012 | 24 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 11 | 0 | 10 | 4 | 1 |
| 2013 | 25 | 16 | 5 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 6 | 14 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 23 | 5 | 4 |
| 2014 | 26 | 13 | 12 | 2 | 23 | 0 | 21 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 45 | 5 | 5 |
| Career | 47 | 17 | 6 | 29 | 0 | 21 | 30 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 12 | 0 | 78 | 15 | 11 |
Provided by Pro-Football-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 3/6/2015.
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