Detroit Lions: 8 Players who could be gone in 2019
By Zac Snyder
Theo Riddick
Blount playing out his final games as a Lion won’t come as a shock to anyone but the idea that Theo Riddick’s time in Detroit may be coming to an end might surprise some. It’s clear Riddick is, or at least was, valued by Bob Quinn considering it was Quinn who gave Riddick his current contract. He was a Martin Mayhew draft pick but it was Quinn who decided to keep him in Detroit.
But even as the Lions’ offense has been thinned by injury, Riddick remains a change of pace or gadget player. Riddick will have a 2019 cap number approaching $4.4 million for 2019, the last year of his contract, and it stands to reason whether the Lions want to see the contract play out or would rather move on and take the $3,425,000 cap savings.
Maybe that will depend in part on who the offensive coordinator is next season. Perhaps that person will have a vision for how Riddick could be better deployed as a more consistent weapon in the Lions offense.
Short of that, it may make more sense to roll with Johnson and some cheaper options behind him, even if that means drafting another running back.