Lions surprise with Kennard release and new signings
At some point, Detroit Lions GM Bob Quinn will have to explain what appears to be a confusing first two days in the NFL free-agent market that doesn’t appear to be pushing the team forward.
On Tuesday, the Lions released linebacker Devon Kennard less than a day after signing free-agent linebacker Jamie Collins to a reported three-year deal for US$30 million.
Kennard signed a three-year deal with Detroit in 2018 for $17.25 million. He was to count $7.4 million against the cap for Detroit in 2020 and the club will save $5.7 million in cap space by letting him go.
“From the day he joined our organization in 2018, Devon exhibited an outstanding level of professionalism on and off the field,” Quinn and Lions head coach Matt Patricia said in a joint statement. “We would like to thank Devon for his contributions to the Lions organization over the last two years and wish him and his family the very best in the future.”
However, the 28-year-old Kennard had been productive with 14 sacks over the past two seasons with the Lions while the 30-yearold Collins was released by the Cleveland Browns a year ago. He bounced back with 81 combined tackles and seven sacks with the New England Patriots.
Detroit also released quarterback Kyle Sloter, who was signed in November after Jeff Driskel was injured. It came after the club signed 33-year-old journeyman QB Chase Daniel to a reported three-year deal for $13.05 million.
A 10-year veteran, Daniel would seem a logical fit for the Lions, who went 0-8 after starter Matthew Stafford went down with a back injury last season. However, the move also seems to take away any illusions the club will use the No. 3 pick overall in next month’s NFL Draft to select QB Tua Tagovailoa, which could also hurt the ability to recoup value in a trade for the pick.
Despite spending a decade in the NFL with New Orleans, Kansas City, Philadelphia and Chicago, Daniel has just five career starts.
Detroit’s other two signings, both expected to fit into starting roles, have been career backups.
The Lions gave offensive tackle Halapoulivaati Vaitai a reported five-year deal for $50 million to leave Philadelphia where he had just 20 starts in 55 career games and just four over the last two seasons. He takes the place of Rick Wagner, who started 40 games in three seasons with Detroit and would have made $9 million with the Lions in 2020.
The Lions also gave Nick Williams a reported two-year deal for $10 million to leave the Chicago Bears. The 30-year-old Williams has also spent time with Kansas City and Miami, but has just five career starts in 44 career games and all of those came last season.
Free agent signings can be officially announced when the new NFL season begins at 4 p.m. on Wednesday. However, the Lions usually wait until a player passes a team physical before announcing any deals and, because of the COVID -19 pandemic, the NFL and NFLPA are not allowing teams to conduct those physicals. Instead, a team can have the player have a medical exam in his home city or use medical records from a player’s previous team.