Lions Lowdown

Tight end Eric Ebron is no longer with the Lions. The team announced they had released him at 3:10 p.m. today (Wednesday).

Since they apparently couldn’t find a trade partner, they released him an hour before his $8.25 million salary would have been guaranteed. Rumors have been flying that Ebron could be gone, so this is not a huge surprise.

Ebron has a huge personality and questionable hands.

Now the Lions are in the market for two tight ends. Darren Fells has reportedly agreed to a three-year $12 million deal with the Cleveland Browns.

That leaves two tight ends on the roster — Michael Roberts and Hakeem Valles.

Roberts, a fourth-round pick in 2017, had four catches for 46 yards and zero touchdowns in 15 games as a rookie. Roberts showed promise. So we will see. Valles played in one game for the Lions in 2017 and 11 games for the Cardinals in 2016. He hasn’t registered a catch in the NFL.

In 2017 Ebron had 53 catches for 574 yards and four touchdowns. Not a horrible year, but apparently not good enough to keep him around for $8 million-plus.

PHOTO COURTESY OF DETROIT LIONS

Ebron, the 10th overall draft pick in 2014, had 186 catches for 2,070 yards and 11 touchdowns in four seasons with the Lions.

 

 

UPDATED WITH SHEAD SIGNING

The Lions secondary is starting to take shape.

Of course, free agency is just getting started and the draft is six weeks away.

The team announced late Wednesday they have signed defensive back DeShawn Shead. It’s believed to be a one-year, $3.5 million deal along with incentives.

Versatility is a plus for the 28-year-old defensive back who played safety and cornerback in Seattle where he’s spent six seasons. He’s coming off a torn ACL and only played two games in 2017. He was a starter in 2016.

Also, the Lions re-signed Nevin Lawson Wednesday. The cornerback is entering his fifth season in Detroit after he was drafted in the fourth round in 2014.

He started 15 games in 2017 and finished with 43 total tackles (37 solo), four pass defenses, one forced fumble and his first-career fumble recovery, which he returned for a 44-yard touchdown against Cleveland.

Other cornerbacks currently on the roster include Darius Slay, Teez Tabor and Jamal Agnew.

Safeties include Glover Quin, Tavon Wilson (who was re-signed on Tuesday) and Miles Killebrew.

Quandre Diggs, who started 2017 at nickel and finished playing safety, will also return. It’s too early to know what position he will play under new defensive coordinator Paul Pasqualoni.

Tabor, a second-round pick a year ago, and Agnew, who was taken in the fifth round, will be taking the step from rookie to second-year player. Generally that’s where much improvement is seen.

The Lions passing defense was ranked sixth in the NFL in 2017, allowing an average of 243.2 passing yards per game.

The Lions needed linebackers and it appears they will officially sign free agents Christian Jones and Devon Kennard when NFL free agency opens at 4 p.m. on Wednesday.

Peter Schrager of FOX Sports reports the Lions have agreed to a three-year deal worth $18.75 millions with Kennard who was a fifth-round pick of the Giants in 2014. He started 11 games for the Giants in 2017 when he had 41 tackles, four sacks and two pass defenses. Kennard played in 52 games in the past four seasons.

Jones, who can play inside or outside, will sign a two-year deal with Detroit, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter. Jones missed just one game since 2014 when he signed as an undrafted free agent with the Bears. He started 11 games in 2017 and played special teams. He finished 2017 with 90 tackles, two sacks and a forced fumble.

Linebacker was a huge position of need with three Lions linebackers set for free agency — Tahir Whitehead, Paul Worrilow and Nick Bellore.

Also:

— Cornerback DeShawn Shead is visiting the Lions today (Tuesday) according to NFL Network insider Ian Rapoport. He will visit the 49ers on Wednesday. He has spent the last six seasons with the Seahawks. After playing in 47 games in three seasons (2014-16) he played in just two in 2017 after a long recovery from ACL surgery.

— Haloti Ngata appears headed to the Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles, according to Schefter. Ngata, 34, spent the last three seasons in Detroit. He played in just five games in 2017 due to injury.

— Veteran running backs Jonathan Stewart and DeMarco Murray visited the Lions this week according to multiple reports. Neither one would likely be the savior of the Lions running game which was the worst in the NFL in 2017 with an average of 76.3 yards per game. However, they could provide help. Expect the Lions to draft a running back in the early rounds. They are not going anywhere in 2018 without a vastly improved running game.

— The Lions announced on Tuesday morning that they re-signed safety Tavon Wilson. Rapoport reported it’s two years for $7 million. He had nine starts in 2017. With the new regime the former Patriot obviously figures into the plan.