The Detroit Lions are dealing with some terrible injury luck right now. Marcus Davenport is the latest player to be lost for the season… how should they go about replacing him?
The Detroit Lions secured a massive victory over the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday, but it came with a heavy price. The team suffered several injuries throughout the game, but one name that wasn’t on that list at the time was defensive end Marcus Davenport, who suffered an elbow injury during the game on Sunday and has been ruled out for the rest of the season.
After suffering the injury, Davenport attempted to put a sleeve on his arm for support and came back onto the field for a few plays. It’s a very unfortunate injury for Davenport, who has battled injuries throughout his entire career. It’s also a massive blow to the defense, which has been getting great production out of its defensive line, and has been thriving off of pressuring the quarterback.
Today’s Question of the Day is…
How should the Lions replace Marcus Davenport?
The easiest and most likely option for replacing Davenport is by committee with the players already on the roster. Davenport’s pass rushing style was the perfect compliment for Aidan Hutchinson on the opposite side. He’s a bulky defensive end who wins with power, and if they are looking to find someone who can play a similar part, then I’d expect to see the Lions give someone like Levi Onwuzurike or Josh Paschal more opportunities in that role moving forward. However, don’t be too surprised if the Lions decide to also increase James Houston IV’s role as a pass rusher, especially with Derrick Barnes also expected to miss “a significant amount of time”.
Although the coaches are very confident in the depth that the team has already, they could also decide to sign or trade for someone to help fill in the void left by Davenport’s injury. It feels like an unlikely scenario because I don’t feel that the front office is going to feel pressured to make a move, but it never hurts to make a phone call. EDGEs Haason Reddick (NY Jets) and Azeez Ojulari (NY Giants) are two of the hottest names on the trading block right now and could potentially be had for a reasonable price.
Reddick and the Jets have yet to reach a deal so far this year as the 30-year-old pass rusher has missed the first three games of the season. Reddick still has plenty of pass rush juice and is only two years removed from a season where he had 21 sacks and 87 total pressures.
Ojulari’s numbers are not nearly as good, but he’s a former second-round pick who is currently buried on the depth chart behind guys like Kayvon Thibodeaux and Brian Burns. Perhaps the Lions’ coaches could find some untapped potential there.
As far as free agents go, the cupboard is pretty bare. No disrespect to former Lion Austin Bryant, but when he is near the top of the list of available FAs, that’s probably not the best avenue to take.
Let’s hear from you. How should the Lions go about replacing Marcus Davenport? Leave your thoughts in the comments below.
