Lions make big addition to offensive line
Former No. 2 pick Robinson obtained in deal with Rams, Kouandijo also signed
With starting left tackle Taylor Decker out for an unknown period of time after shoulder surgery, the Detroit Lions moved on Thursday to try to fill his void on the roster.
The Lions acquired Greg Robinson, who was the No. 2 overall pick in the 2014 NFL Draft, from the Los Angeles Rams for a reported sixth-round pick in 2018. The club also signed free agent offensive tackle Cyrus Kouandjio, who was waived last month by the Buffalo Bills following a bizarre off-season incident.
“They’re both good athletes,” Lions head coach Jim Caldwell said. “Good athletes that have ability and they’ve played a bit in the league. We’re happy to have them. Both guys will give us an opportunity to get better and that’s the key.”
Both tackles come with question marks, but the Lions needed to act after Decker suffered a torn labrum during Organized Team Activities that will likely keep him out for at least part of the regular season.
“It has no bearing on that,” Caldwell said of Decker’s injury prompting the additions.
With Robinson and Kouandjio, the Lions have now signed three experienced offensive tackles since Decker had surgery on June 5. Last week, the club signed sixfoot-five, 304-pound Tony Hills, who spent the past two seasons with New Orleans.
“I think one of the things you have to understand about us, and I think it’s kind of been consistent, that we’re looking at every opportunity that we can to improve our football team,” Caldwell said. “That’s what we’re all about.
“We’re trying to get better and we’ve got to get better fast. So, any opportunity that we see that we can get some improvement, we’re going to certainly look at those closely.”
The six-foot-five, 332-pound Robinson brings plenty of experience, but did not have the production the Rams were hoping for after making him the second pick overall in 2014 out of Auburn University. Los Angeles management had already declined the fifth-year option on his contract for 2018.
The 24-year-old Robinson has started in 42 of 46 games with the Rams, including all 14 he played last season, but ProFootballFocus ranked him among the league’s worst tackles the past three seasons.
“I’m concerned about what he does for us here and now from this point forward,” Caldwell said of Robinson. “I just think that everybody is a little different. Asked to do different things in different systems and things of that nature. So, we think he fits well with us and we’ll see. He’s the kind of guy we’re looking for and he’ll work for it.”
The six-foot-seven, 322-pound Kouandjio was a second-round pick by the Bills in 2014. He appeared in just 25 of 48 games with the Bills over that time with seven starts.
However, the 23-year-old Kouandjio was found partially dressed and wandering in a farm field in Elma, N.Y. in April. He was taken to a medical centre for evaluation, treatment and observation. The Bills released him last month.
A former all-American at the University of Alabama, he started 27 games for the Crimson Tide in his three seasons and won national championships in 2012 and 2013.
“Some of the information, obviously, has been inaccurate,” Caldwell said. “I think it goes right in line with how we’ve always done and what I’ve always believed.
“Everybody certainly should have an opportunity to have a second chance. No one’s perfect, but I think those things are behind him and, just like the situation you’re talking about with Greg and same thing with Cyrus, we’re looking forward. We’re not worried about what happened in the past at this point.”
To make room on the roster for Thursday’s additions, the Lions released long snapper Jimmy Landes, who was a sixth-round draft pick by Detroit in 2016, and offensive tackle Arturo Uzdavinis, who spent last year on the practice squad for the Jacksonville Jaguars.