Detroit Lions: 5 Offseason moves to make for 2019

Commit to a younger backup quarterback

Early in Bob Quinn’s tenure as general manager of the Detroit Lions he called it good business to draft quarterbacks with at least some regularity. So far that has amounted to little more than wasted draft picks. Quinn took Jake Rudock in the sixth round of the 2016 NFL Draft, his first as GM, then followed up by selecting Brad Kaaya in the sixth round of the 2017 NFL Draft.

Neither player made the initial 53-man roster heading into their rookie seasons, though both spent the majority of their time on the Lions practice squad. Kaaya bounced between the Panthers, Lions and Colts while Rudock was only elevated to the active roster late in his rookie season to keep from losing him to the Chicago Bears.

Now both players are officially ex-Lions with the team getting no return on investment from a strategy Quinn called good business. Perhaps a big part of the problem was that their investment did not go beyond the use of the draft pick. Expectations were low coming in considering both were drafted in the sixth round but it never felt like the team was fully committed to their development and grooming them to at least be a true backup.

2019 is a good time to break that cycle with a new offensive coordinator coming in. The offense as a whole will be getting a fresh start so there is no better time to commit to truly developing a quarterback behind Matthew Stafford. Now heading into his 11th year there shouldn’t be any concern about adding a veteran under the auspices of helping for game day preparation. Let that burden fall on the coaches and the players who will actually be on the field.

Signing Connor Cook already this offseason is a step in the right direction but hardly makes for a checked off box in this area. There is still room to add young competition, perhaps through a more carefully considered draft pick, either for one roster spot or go back to carrying three quarterbacks on the roster.