11-28-2019, 04:04 AM
To borrow a phrase from one of my colleagues:WHATJUSTHAPPENED?The Detroit Lions traded away Golden Tate—a centerpiece of their offense for 4.5 years—for a third-round pick.I’ll be honest http://www.lionslockerroom.com/authentic...ard-jersey , I didn’t take any of the trade rumors seriously. These kind of things pop up every single year, and although the Lions didn’t show any serious signs of re-signing the 30-year-old receiver, it didn’t make all that much sense to me to ship him, especially after making an aggressive move last week by adding Damon Harrison Sr. to the team. While I’m being honest, it’s hard to get over the emotional loss here. Tate has been a joy to watch on the field, and he’s been one of the most entertaining off it. He’s one of the few members of the locker room that will stand by and talk openly for all 45 minutes of the media session. No bullshit. No coach-speak. He’ll say what’s on his mind and let you sit with it. Even if I wasn’t writing a story about him, I’d often stand there next to him just to hear someone speak candidly for once. But let’s put the emotions aside for a minute and offer my quick thoughts.Are the Lions trying to contend this year or not?Tomorrow, Matt Patricia is expected to talk to the media, as he does every Wednesday. He’ll almost certainly say that this changes nothing about the 2018 season and that the team’s goals remain the same: win the division, win a playoff game, win the championship. Detroit is only a game behind the NFC North lead, and by trading for Damon Harrison Sr.—a 29-year-old defensive tackle—it looked like they were prepared to make a jump towards contender.But this move suggests they’re more concerned about 2019 and beyond. Golden Tate led all Lions receivers in targets, receptions, receiving yards and plays of 20+ yards this season. He’s clearly developed a chemistry with Matthew Stafford, and his loss will undoubtedly send shockwaves through Detroit’s offense. There’s no doubt the team is worse off in 2018 now without Tate, and coming off such a poor performance against the Seahawks, you have to think Detroit could be headed for a long November and December.So what was that “Snacks” trade all about?Well, I think we need to reevaluate what that trade was about. And our friend Brian Phillips from Pats Pulpit put it nicely earlier on Tuesday:The Lions had a need at nose tackle, and one that wasn’t going away any time soon. Ricky Jean Francois wasn’t going to be the answer beyond 2018. So the Lions saw a desperate Giants team http://www.lionslockerroom.com/authentic...son-jersey , and a 350-pound fit that is locked up through the 2020 season. This wasn’t a “we’re contenders now” move, it was just a solid roster building piece for the next 2.5 seasons. So was it all worth it?Well, if you ask our own Kyle Yost, he thinks this is a brain-over-heart move. If we’re talking about plain value, a third-round pick for Golden Tate is a decent return for an expiring contract and a player who has likely peaked. It was more than the Broncos got for Demaryious Thomas, who is also 30 years old, but much less productive over the past few seasons. But is a third-round pick worth essentially throwing the 2018 season? I’m just not so sure. I wasn’t ready to give up on this team’s chances for the season, no matter how poor their performance was last week. And as much as we all love draft picks, you’ll be lucky to find a starter in the third round. But, compensatory pick? Now, a lot of people—myself included—have rallied against this move on the basis that Detroit could likely pull in at least a fourth-round compensatory pick should they just let him go in free agency. However, that’s a little misleading. The Lions are set to have a boatload of cap room next offseason, meaning they’ll likely be quite active in the free agency process. If that’s the case, the additions are quite likely to offset their losses, and they may not get any compensatory picks despite losing Tate.All that being said, I’m just not sure why everyone was so closed to the idea of extending Tate. Sure, he would’ve required a boost in salary, but the Lions have all the aforementioned salary cap room, Kenny Golladay is still on a rookie deal Frank Ragnow Jersey White , and Tate’s efficiency hasn’t slowed yet. Zac Snyder made a convincing argument for re-signing him here. Not done yet?The only way I’d get behind this trade is if something else is happening behind the scenes before the trade deadline. The trade creates nearly $4 million in cap space, and the Lions also did something else to make some more room: If there’s a big defensive player coming to Detroit, I’ll at least understand this move better. If not, I’m left scratching my head. DETROIT (AP) — Long before Matthew Stafford’s two interceptions in the fourth quarter, the Detroit Lions looked limited offensively.Playing without running back Kerryon Johnson and wide receiver Marvin Jones, the Lions kept it close against Chicago on Thursday but ultimately fell 23-16 . Stafford’s late interceptions turned the game in the Bears’ favor, but even when Detroit was keeping better care of the ball, the Lions weren’t exactly picking up huge chunks of yardage. Detroit has some extra time to rest now, and perhaps the Lions will be healthier for their next game — but that Dec. 2 matchup is against a formidable opponent in the Los Angeles Rams.“There’s not a lot of time to sit around and feel sorry for ourselves,” Detroit coach Matt Patricia said. “We have one of the best teams in the NFL coming in here next week.”The Lions (4-7) already have as many losses as they had all of last season, when they went 9-7 before firing coach Jim Caldwell and replacing him with Patricia. It has been a struggle in 2018: The team started 0-2, battled back to 3-3, then lost three straight. Detroit was 3-4 when it traded receiver Golden Tate to the Eagles. Now Jones has been dealing with a knee injury, further hampering the passing game.Receiver Kenny Golladay looks like he could be developing into a star, but against the Bears he seemed like Detroit’s only big-play threat.Stafford finished 28 of 38 for 236 yards in the Thanksgiving loss to Chicago. It was the third time in four games he averaged under 10 yards per completion. He indicated afterward that the Lions prioritized quick passes to deal with Chicago’s pass rush.“I think it’s just influenced by what you see on tape when you see them play. Teams that hold the ball against those guys don’t get the ball off quite a bit,” Stafford said. “I don’t make those two turnovers, I don’t make those poor plays, we’re right where we want to be.”With the score tied at 16, Stafford threw an interception that was run back for a touchdown. Then he had a pass picked off in the end zone with just over a minute to play.Both Jones and Johnson were out with knee injuries. Johnson Devon Kennard Jersey White , a rookie, has given Detroit’s running game a boost, but even with him out, the Lions were able to move the ball decently on the ground. LeGarrette Blount ran for a season-high 88 yards with two touchdowns.“He’s a great player. He’s tough, he’s competitive, he works hard and tries to do everything the right way,” Patricia said. “He has a great knack for continually going after it and eventually, at some point, he (was) able to break a couple, which was good. But look, it doesn’t really matter. We have to go win. We have to figure it out. We have to all perform better, and coach it better, and just go do a better job than what we did.”NOTES: The Lions announced Friday that they have been assigned CB Marcus Cooper via waivers from the Bears. Detroit waived S Don Carey. … Although injuries made the going tougher on offense, the Lions had reason to be encouraged by DE Ziggy Ansah’s performance. Ansah has dealt with injury problems of his own this year, but he was a factor Thursday with a sack and two hurries.