Detroit Lions clean house – Matt Stafford, Calvin Johnson next
The Detroit Lions are making some big moves on Thursday, essentially wiping out the head honchos in the front office, Adam Schefter of ESPN is reporting.
MAJOR changes in Detroit: Lions have fired GM Martin Mayhew and president Tom Lewand, league sources told ESPN.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) November 5, 2015
Ian Rapoport’s sources are indicating there are hefty changes being made throughout the front office there in Detroit:
#Lions source on the firings today: “Total wipeout.” Apparently, bosses are going through the building deciding who stays and goes.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) November 5, 2015
These moves are only the beginning for Detroit, which is clearly seeking a clean slate in every regard. This franchise already lost Ndamukong Suh, arguably the face of the team, this past offseason. Certainly head coach Jim Caldwell will be fired at some point (or so it seems…) and there will be wholesale changes on this roster, including at some of the most prominent positions.
Brian Xanders, who was part of Josh McDaniels’ staff in Denver with the Broncos, will be called upon to serve as the interim GM of this team, so at least there is a capable in-house replacement, but where do the Lions go from here?
Before we get into the options for the future, I think it’s important to remember a couple of things. First of all, with a new general manager and front office typically comes a new head coach, and when those changes are made for an NFL team, it almost ALWAYS indicates a change at the quarterback position.
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That would be fitting in this case, as former top overall pick Matthew Stafford has looked like both an All-Pro and a bust in his time with the Lions, but he’s still the best option they have because they haven’t really challenged him with a capable young prospect.
My opinion is that Matt Stafford will have played his last down for the Detroit Lions at some point in the 2015 season. He could join a pretty intriguing list of quarterbacks on the open market this offseason that would also probably include Colin Kaepernick of San Francisco.
We don’t want to get too far ahead of ourselves, but whatever new general manager is brought in to the Lions is going to have to do something about the awful contract of Calvin Johnson, a 30-year old wide receiver who carries an ungodly $24 million cap hit for next season and will almost certainly be a strong candidate for trade this offseason.
The key is going to be getting a team to trade for Calvin and then also re-structuring his contract, but it’s something that’s holding the Lions back and unless they can find a way to re-structure, I would expect him to be a possible name to move this offseason as well. He carries a dead cap hit of nearly $13 million, so they aren’t going to release him, but it will certainly be an odd offseason in Detroit with what names could be on the move.
This year’s NFL draft has a few names at QB, particularly a local product in Connor Cook, that could be appealing to the brass in Detroit. Either way, this team needs a fresh start in every way, and it appears as though they are going to get it.
And then some.