6 Game Changers Good For 1-Yr Contracts
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00:00The way Brad Holmes is drafted,
00:02the way they found players for this team,
00:04they are set up for success for years.
00:06This is not just gonna be a flash in the pan,
00:08make the playoffs one year,
00:10and then we don't see the playoffs
00:11for the next several years,
00:12have to rebuild, find a new quarterback,
00:14and do all, no, no, none of that.
00:15This team is set up.
00:18And kudos to Brad Holmes for setting things up.
00:20Now, there are high expectations,
00:21and we're in unfamiliar territories, Lions fans,
00:25expecting nothing but the best from here on forth.
00:30But there's always ways to improve the team.
00:33And this team does have cap space still,
00:35and a lot of it.
00:38And when you start looking at,
00:39well, how do you spend it?
00:40Well, you can spend it on one-year contracts,
00:42you can, on players that are in the last year of a contract,
00:46and find teams that are willing to trade players.
00:49So Bleacher Report has this story
00:51about six potential players
00:54that teams should consider moving
00:56because they're rebuilding.
00:57If they're rebuilding,
00:58they need to get resources for those players back,
01:00which usually comes in the form of draft pick compensation.
01:03And that's what we're looking at.
01:05So Khalil Mack was a name I thought was really interesting
01:07that was on this list.
01:08And here's another one
01:09that's really interesting on this list.
01:11It's edge rusher Matthew Judon
01:14from the New England Patriots.
01:16Now, he didn't play much last year.
01:19He was hurt, missed all but four games last season
01:23with an injured bicep.
01:25But the previous year, he had 15 1 1⁄2 sacks
01:29in 22.
01:30And even though he only played in four games last year,
01:32he had four sacks in those four games.
01:35Now, it talks about, this one actually has a comp.
01:39And it says, the Eagles were able to turn Hassan Redick
01:43into a conditional third-round pick from the New York Jets.
01:46If the Patriots could get something similar for Judon,
01:51it would allow them to save $6.7 million in cap space
01:55and stock up on draft capital
01:58to build around their quarterback, Drake May.
02:02So that is a name that's very interesting.
02:07Matthew Judon has been awfully productive
02:10in his NFL career.
02:12And one of the elite pass rushers in the league,
02:15when he is healthy.
02:16Like I said, last year, he only played the four games.
02:19But he's awfully, awfully good.
02:22Kane, this is one where I look at
02:24and you see that, okay, we're talking about
02:30a guy who's coming off injury.
02:33It's an edge rusher.
02:34He's 32 years old.
02:36So it's not like he's a spring chicken.
02:38No, but he's slightly younger than Khalil Mack.
02:40Yeah, played his college ball at Grand Valley.
02:43Yeah, it's from the area.
02:45But I mean, like here, I like Matthew Judon.
02:47I like the conditional part of these picks
02:49because that means they have to perform.
02:50They have to hit some kind of benchmarks
02:54for that pick to be a third round pick
02:58to validate the trade.
03:01He's coming off injury, which concerns me.
03:03But he's been very productive throughout his career.
03:05Even the injured year last year,
03:06he had four sacks in four games.
03:09I actually don't mind this.
03:10Maybe it's because he's slightly younger than Khalil Mack.
03:13But I would be willing to put some kind of conditional
03:15third, fourth round pick and kick the tires on Judon.
03:19I don't think Brad Holmes is gonna do this.
03:21I think they're just gonna roll with what they have
03:24and see how it goes.
03:26If there's a move, it'd probably be during the year.
03:29I think they're gonna roll with,
03:30let's see if James Houston is healthy or not.
03:33See if Davenport and his veteran leadership
03:36can help the other guys play better.
03:38Bats, like I mentioned.
03:39There's other guys on this team.
03:40They might be big name guys like Judon and Mack,
03:42but I think the Lions are also counting on Hutchinson
03:45to get better, Jack Campbell to get better.
03:48The secondary as a whole and defense as a whole
03:51to get better with Aaron Glenn.
03:51Maybe playing the defense he's always wanted to play.
03:54But I don't think, I think when you're as close
03:56as the Lions are, you never rule out these type of moves.
03:59Because you can do both people.
04:01You can be sustainable and have these young blue chip
04:03players that you draft and develop.
04:05And you can also add that one or two pieces
04:08to put you over the top.
04:09Now especially if they're just like one year deals.
04:12You know, you're not going out and signing someone,
04:13breaking the bank for, I want a legitimate need.
04:16Okay, I'll be the first to admit it.
04:17But that is a big contract you have to take on.
04:19If the Lions don't want to do that,
04:21these other moves like Judon and other guys
04:23with one, two year deals is the way to go.
04:25Yeah, so I'm looking at and comparing Judon to Khalil Mack
04:29and I don't know, would they both get the same kind
04:32of compensation in return?
04:33If you're talking a third round pick,
04:36if that's what it is, I'd do it.
04:39Particularly for Khalil Mack.
04:40I like Khalil Mack more than I like Judon.
04:42Because Khalil Mack has more of a track record
04:44of being the guy who's done that.
04:46But is his contract heavier?
04:48It is heavier, but again, if you can afford it.
04:50If you get the space and it's just a one year deal.
04:52Yeah, if you got the space, you can afford it,
04:53go ahead and do it.
04:54Because it is just one year.
04:56And it's the year you go for it.
04:59Because you think you're that close to getting there.
05:02Now, is it something you get done
05:03before training camp begins?
05:06I know that's the article is about getting
05:07these things done in training camp.
05:08I doubt that happens.
05:09I think if you're just doing.
05:11Unless an injury or something, knock on wood.
05:13Maybe, yeah, exactly, knock on wood there.
05:16But, I mean, if you're the Chargers
05:18and you've got Khalil Mack,
05:20and he's coming off a 17 sacks season
05:23like he did last year,
05:25you're probably thinking I can maximize his value
05:30by waiting until the trade deadline to trade.
05:32I mean, remember Brian Burns,
05:35the offer was, the rumor was there were
05:37two first round picks that they were turning,
05:39Carolina was turning down.
05:42They made a mistake.
05:43They made a huge mistake, a massive mistake.
05:45They should've traded them.
05:46Should've gotten the picks.
05:48But, when you look at Khalil Mack,
05:50if you're the Chargers and you are rebuilding,
05:52in a way the rebuilding,
05:54although they probably think they've got talent
05:56to still be good,
05:57look, they lost their top two receivers.
06:00We'll see what they end up doing.
06:01They're losing a running back.
06:02It probably is a rebuilding year.
06:05If I'm the Chargers and I've got this asset
06:07who's an aging player but is still productive,
06:10I'm gonna wait to the trade deadline to move him.
06:12Because I think you're gonna get more
06:13than a third round pick if you wait
06:14until October or whenever it is.
06:17That's me.
06:19Judon is interesting, but I'm concerned about him
06:22because he doesn't have this long track record
06:25of being great.
06:26Now, in 2022, he had 15 and a half sacks.
06:28The year prior to that was 12 and a half.
06:30But before that, his career high was nine and a half.
06:33Still solid.
06:34Solid, yeah, but solid.
06:36He's not Khalil Mack as far as a career.
06:38Yeah, exactly.
06:38Of course.
06:39It's solid.
06:40It's like saying, Houston was solid
06:43in his rookie season when he had eight sacks
06:44in seven games.
06:46But it's eight and seven.
06:47You're thinking, can he get double digits if he's healthy?
06:51I'm looking at that.
06:52I just, looking at these two names,
06:54I think it's really interesting
06:56to see that there are edge rushers
06:58that might be available because they're on teams
07:00that are considered in rebuilds.
07:03Certainly the Patriots are.
07:06But where do the people stand?
07:07If you have any opinion on this, 248-539-9797
07:12is the telephone number.
07:14Curious your thoughts on the Lions here,
07:16and you're just getting excited about this.
07:19There's another name on this list as well
07:21that I don't think fits the Lions' needs anymore,
07:25but was one to consider, absolutely.
07:28And if there's a setback,
07:31if there's a setback with DJ Reader,
07:33would you consider this?
07:34And that's Washington Commanders defensive tackle,
07:37Jonathan Allen, who will be a free agent
07:40at the end of the season.
07:42They got a lot of money tied up in him,
07:44and if they were to move on
07:47and start their rebuild as well,
07:50this is somebody that could make sense.
07:52It says, at the last paragraph,
07:54Allen would be a useful interior pass rusher
07:57for multiple teams.
07:58He has 22 sacks over the last three seasons.
08:02From a defensive tackle, that's a lot of production.
08:04He's a beast.
08:06He's a beast.
08:07And again, it'd be a one-year deal
08:09where you're assigning him
08:11because he's in the last year of a contract.
08:12Does that make sense?
08:13He's a stud.
08:14I don't think you need to go that route now,
08:16especially when you got DJ Reader.
08:17And believe it or not, people,
08:19the Lions are actually good at stopping the run.
08:21They're one of the best teams
08:22at stopping the run last year.
08:24It's getting to the quarterback and that secondary
08:27that was more of an issue of anything.
08:29Hopefully all those pressures
08:30that Aiden Hutchinson had last year,
08:32some more of those turn into sacks this year.
08:34Having DJ Reader in the middle helps with the run,
08:36but also helps with the pass rush
08:38because he'll hopefully be taking on double teams
08:40where Lee McNeil, who's more of a,
08:41can get to the quarterback pressure type of guy,
08:44can help with that route.
08:45I like Jonathan Allen as a player a lot,
08:47but I'm not sure they need to go that route.
08:49He's actually, I misspoke,
08:50he's not a free agent at the end of the year.
08:51He's got another year on the contract
08:54that pays him $15 million next season,
08:58which if you're gonna trade for him,
09:00that's what you'll be on hook for next season.
09:02It's gonna cost Washington more because of salary,
09:04because of signing bonuses.
09:06But that's where it is for next year, it's 15 million.
09:09So probably, he's probably off the list
09:11because it's beyond this season.
09:15But also need-wise, I'm not sure it's there either.
09:17Yeah, I don't know if they do either.
09:18I mean, they're hoping that,
09:21and we're gonna see more from Project Martin,
09:23Anzorique may be on his way out,
09:25but this is something we're gonna see here
09:27because they have Reader for two years.
09:29Yeah. Yeah.
09:30So, I mean, by the way,
09:31the Lions don't have a third round pick next year.
09:33It could also be a 2026 third round pick
09:35or even a fourth round, depending.
09:37So just because they don't have a third round next year
09:40doesn't mean they can't make a deal for any of these guys.
09:43There's always ways to work around it,
09:44and that's the job of the front office.
09:46So 2485.