It's an undeniable fact: The Detroit Lions are one of the most popular destinations today for free agents. Just two short years ago, I would have been laughed at for typing out that exact same sentence.
Yet, players have increasingly grown an affinity for Detroit – the one-time laughingstocks of the NFL – as the franchise has skyrocketed up the NFC North standings and become Super Bowl contenders.
The proof is in the pudding, too. The team signed multiple players this past offseason that were desired by several organizations, most notably defensive lineman DJ Reader and offensive lineman Kevin Zeitler. Plus, two veteran receivers with no prior ties to the Lions – Tim Patrick and one-time Pro Bowler Allen Robinson – recently inked practice-squad contracts with the organization.
In past years, this would've been unheard of for the Ford family-run team.
“In the past, I would say for the first two years, we had to do a lot of selling and convincing, constantly, just to try to get guys here,” Detroit general manager Brad Holmes told reporters Thursday. “And that’s probably in each phase of player acquisition, year-round, whether it’s this time of year, whether it’s the trade deadline, whether it’s free agency, whether it’s after the draft.”
However, this current version of the Lions, led by Holmes and head coach Dan Campbell, is a model franchise. And because of such, it has become a highly sought-after team for accomplished players, like Reader and Zeitler and Patrick and Robinson, chasing Super Bowl rings.
The agents of such players are now doing everything in their power to get their clients to the Motor City.
“It does feel good, it makes you feel good that we’ve done something,” Holmes expressed. “We’ve accomplished some things that these agents want to send their players here.”
Speaking of agents wanting to send their players to Detroit, agents representing wide receivers and kickers were at the forefront of that this summer, according to Holmes. This was evidently due to the Lions’ need for a big-bodied, “X” receiver and kicker Michael Badgley going down with a season-ending injury early in training camp.
“Now, the wide receiver front, that was even easier conversations,” Holmes said. “Every agent of a wide receiver wanted to send them here. And really the same thing happened with kicker, too, when Badgley went down. We play, I think, all but one game indoors. Why would a kicker not want to come here?”
