Where the Detroit Lions Sit After Losing Suh

Many believe Suh wanted to leave all along. That he never wanted to stay with the Lions. The fact is however, nobody knows what he was thinking. We can only theorize on how he felt, and of course, when a top player leaves a team, it is only natural to believe he wanted to leave. It is a way of rationalizing the loss. It is still a theory though.

The Detroit Free Press had an exclusive interview with Ndomukong Suh and he finally opened up and spoke about what had happened. Here is the link.... Ndamukong Suh Interview. Basically, it comes down to this. Ndamukong Suh says he never wanted to leave. That he had been expecting to sign with the Lions again. That Miami just offered him too good of a deal and he couldnt refuse it.

After reading the article, here is my belief. Mayhew was offering Suh a very strong deal. He did not believe any team would top it by much. Suh knew what the Lions would offer and didnt think any team would top it by much. So both sides were expecting the Lions would re-sign Suh. This would explain why Mayhew never was willing to trade Suh in the past and why they did not hit him with the franchise tag. They completely expected that whatever any team offered him, the Lions would be able to top. Then Miami threw an offer that surprised the entire NFL world. Too much for even the Lions to match. To much for Suh to refuse. So the Lions were suddenly without their top defensive player and needing to find a way to replace him.

Many thought the Lions would sign Fairley if they lost Suh, but instead they said they would not chase after him. Instead they thought on their feet and pulled a shocking move of their own. They handed the Ravens their 4th round and 5th round pick, for the Raven's 7th round pick and DT - Haloti Ngata. As quick as that, they had replaced Suh with another DT who may not be as good, but is still a top end DT. The problem now however, is the Lions still have several positions to address and only three draft picks worth mentioning.

Here are the positions the Lions still need to address (at the time of writing this).
LG -- With Sims still waiting on offers in free agency, the Lions are in need of a Left Guard. The last I heard, they were talking to Justin Blalock, but he reportedly visited the Lions and left town without a deal. I am fully expecting them to bring back Rob Sims for one more year. Many fans do not like him, but last year he was coming off of surgery and it took over half a year for him to get back into game shape.
RB -- I like Bell as a RB, but lets face the facts, he did not face many in the box last year and he still didnt have a great year. Decent maybe, but not great. The Lions need a RB with real speed. Speed that will force defenses to bring more men into the box to stop him. Speed that will bring the safeties in closer rather than sitting deep and taking the big play away. Enough speed that will help open the passing game again.
#3 WR -- They have Calvin Johnson and Golden Tate, but that is it. Unless you are confident Ebron will come to life this year, they only have two solid receivers. With Calvin stretching one side of the field out, and Tate causing havoc in the middle of the field, what the Lions need is a WR with elite speed to pull safeties with him down field and open the others up.
DT -- Ngata is a great pickup, but the Lions need another good DT to help stop the run and push the middle of the pocket back at the QB. I think they will end up re-signing Moseley, but they would then have two older DTs and will need a third one sometime soon to start developing.
DE -- This is likely the least of their needs, but a good DE living across from Ansah would help immensely. Especially with Ngata in the middle now. Ngata is a great run stuffer, but he is not as good in pass rushing. Without Suh putting so much pressure on QBs from the DT spot, the Lions need more out of their Ends.
CB -- They still have Slay but Mathis has become a free agent. It is so important to have two good CBs in todays NFL, that this may be the most important position of all to address. I expect them to bring back Mathis, but they still need another in the draft this year. It usually takes a CB a year to develop in the NFL.Mathis is getting older and it could blow an entire season if Mathis finally loses his touch and the Lions dont have another CB developing. You can get by in the NFL with one good and one average DT. With an average DE, LB or even Safety. If there is one position in the NFL a team cannot get by with an average player, it is cornerback. You must have two good CBs or the NFL QBs will rip you apart.

Here are the players I see the Lions bringing back.
LG - Sims
DT - C.J.Moseley
DE - George Johnson
CB - Rashean Mathis

That leaves them with a CB (developing), RB, #3 WR, OL, & DT (developing) the Lions will still need to add and not having a 4th or 5th round pick in the draft. I think they will add a RB and a CB, and one player in the trenches, either offensive or defensive, with the first three rounds. This will not fill all of their needs, but it will only leave their least important needs.