D-Day for Lions? Don't expect another swindle
The trade deadline is Tuesday, and while the Lions may not make the kind of splash they did a year ago -- dealing Roy Williams to Dallas for a haul of draft picks -- GM Martin Mayhew's definitely making and taking phone calls. At 1-5 with a roster overhaul only just beginning, that much should go without saying.
Mayhew and the new coaching staff have made it pretty clear, too, that there aren't many untouchables on this roster. And that they're not afraid to get rid of players -- at least when it's contractually feasible -- that aren't getting the job done.
But which expendable players on the current roster might have trade value? You'd have to think LB Ernie Sims is one with the emergence of rookie DeAndre Levy as a starter. Sims has another year left on his rookie contract, but he might benefit from a change of scenery. Jeff Backus? Daunte Culpepper? Phillip Buchanon? Anthony Henry? I doubt it, but clearly the last two aren't in good graces with the staff here in Detroit right now.
On the flip side, I've heard the Lions could be interested in LB Derrick Johnson, who is on the block in Kansas City. But that position is one of the few where the Lions don't seem to have an obvious need at the moment. Plus, I'd imagine the asking price -- a mid-round pick? -- might go up with Chicago (Tinoisamoa, on heels of Urlacher and Hillenmeyer) and Seattle (Tatupu) both losing key LB to injuries this weekend. (Not sure what the Bears still have to offer, though, after giving up their 1st- and 2nd-round picks next year in the deals for Jay Cutler and Gaines Adams.)
Kansas City -- and the obvious connection here is ex-Chiefs defensive coordinator Gunther Cunningham -- also could be looking to move second-year DT Glenn Dorsey, a 2008 first-round pick who hasn't gotten off to a good start with the new staff and GM Scott Pioli there. He was moved to DE and told to lose a LOT of weight this summer, much like Turk McBride, whom the Lions claimed off waivers from the Chiefs a month ago. Dorsey certainly would fill a need for the Lions on the defensive front, but are the Chiefs really ready to dump him? Publicly, they're saying otherwise the last week or so, and Dorsey played one of his best games Sunday as Kansas City finally got a win over Washington.
The other obvious possible trading partners would include Tennessee, given Schwartz's ties there and the Titans' stunning 0-6 start, as well as Jacksonville. The Lions already have pulled off one deal with Shack Harris' old team, swapping Gerald Alexander for Dennis Northcutt back in June.
