NEWS: Lions Close to Deal with Stafford

According to the Oakland Press, the Detroit Lions are close to terms with Georgia Quarterback Matt Stafford. According to Draft Bible, the Stafford deal is worth about $40 million in guaranteed money and will be very similar to the Matt Ryan deal but could be worth up to $80 million over the length of the contract.


"Lions president Tom Lewand met with owner William Clay Ford for final approval earlier today, and the two sides could finalize a contract as soon as today. One source said a “catastrophe” would have to happen for the Lions not to draft Stafford at this point.

Phone calls to Lewand, general manager Martin Mayhew and senior vice president of communications Bill Keenist were not immediately returned. Neither Stafford nor his agent Tom Condon returned phone calls, either."

Thus begins the rebuilding of the Detroit Lions.

-Matty

Detroit Negotiating Already?

It seems as though Detroit is already in contract talks with who they want to select first overall in the upcoming 2009 Draft. The only question is, who is it? It really can be a wealth of different players but the general consensus is that it'll either be Jason Smith, OT from Baylor, Eugene Monroe, OT from Virginia, Aaron Curry, LB from Wake Forest, Matt Stafford, QB from Georgia, Mark Sanchez, QB from Southern California or B.J. Raji, DT from Boston College.

Mlive.com reports that "The talks are only preliminary and the real target has yet to be identified, but the Detroit Lions are already in the process of negotiating a contract with their first-round draft pick." So though this probably doesn't mean much as of right now, the picture will probably crystallize more clearly in the coming days and it could very well be known who the Lions will be taking.

With a wealth of needs at essentially every position it makes this pick very hard to guess but I think the aforementioned prospects are the most likely as they are the best of the best in terms of talent and should be able to become a face of the franchise. My personal opinion is that the selection is going to be in the trenches and that either Monroe, Smith or Raji will be the pick and I think Raji becomes even more important as Corey Redding was dealt away for Julian Peterson and Schwartz would probably love a big dude clogging the middle like he had with Haynesworth in Tennessee.

Either way, should be interesting and keep checking back for more info.

-Matty

B.J. Raji In Lion's Den

Seems as though the Lions are bringing in another highly touted prospect to check out their facilities and put the immense fear of doubt that they aren't ultimately drafted by the Lions so they don't have to live in Detroit. This weeks victi... I mean visitor, yeah, that's it... it is none other then the behemoth defensive tackle from Boston College B.J. Raji.

Raji has come on like gangbusters since he dominated the Senior Bowl and has turned what was once a weak defensive tackle class into a pretty solid one along side fellow teammate Ron Brace, Missouri's Ziggy Hood, Auburn's Sen'Derrick Marks, Ole Miss' Peria Jerry and San Jose State's Jarron Gilbert.

Either way, with the recent trade of Julian Peterson for Corey Redding it seems a lot more likely that the Lions could indeed draft B.J. Raji, Schwartz who worked in Tennessee had the pleasure (or displeasure) of working with $100 million Albert Haynesworth and he was a disruptive force who could stuff the run and rush the passer and I think Raji is the only defensive tackle who can do both of those things for a team.

Though the likelihood is that the Lions draft an offensive tackle with their first selection overall, don't be surprised if they turn to Raji if they can't get the dollars and cents right with Eugene Monroe or Jason Smith.

-Matty

Prospect Update: Aaron Curry pt. 3

Per Detroit FreeP.com:

"When Wake Forest linebacker Aaron Curry heard the news Saturday about the Lions' trade for Seattle linebacker Julian Peterson, he perked up and began discussing the prospect of playing next to the five-time Pro Bowler.

Curry, who played on the strong side in college, is scheduled to arrive in Detroit today for a visit and a workout with the Lions as the team's potential No. 1 pick in next month's NFL draft. Peterson also plays on the strong side, but Curry said he would relish the chance to play in the middle, or the so-called Mike position."

This trade still does not rule out Aaron Curry as the number one pick to the Lions as their linebackers were arguably worst among the lead and the area that needed the biggest overhaul and with Julian Peterson on the strong side, Ernie Sims on the weak side and Aaron Curry patrolling the middle, the Lions defensive front seven might be perked up just by their appearance and high intensity play. Julian Peterson is a great blitzer, much better then Curry and knows how to bring down the quarterback so it definitely rules out Brian Orakpo as #1 overall.

However, the trade of Redding does bring Boston College defensive tackle B.J. Raji into the discussion for the number one selection among Georgia quarterback Matt Stafford, Baylor offensive tackle Jason Smith, Virginia offensive tackle Eugene Monroe and the aforementioned Curry. Should be interesting to see and we'll probably have a better guage of what the Lions plan to do with the number one selection after Curry's work out.

-Matty

Matt Stafford + Lions = Destiny?

Per NFL.com

In his first mock draft, NFL.com’s Steve Wyche has the Detroit Lions taking Georgia quarterback Matthew Stafford.

Makes sense to Stafford, according to the Detroit Free Press.

“I don’t know if it’s destiny, but I’d love to have the opportunity to be a Lion, for sure,” Stafford said. “I think it’s a great opportunity for me. It could work out in the end, for sure.”

The destiny part has to do with Bobby Layne, the Lions quarterback who when traded to Pittsburgh in 1958 — the year after leading Detroit to its last championship — supposedly put a curse on his old team, saying the Lions wouldn’t win for 50 years. The newspaper points out that Detroit has only one playoff win and one Pro Bowl quarterback since Layne was traded.

The interesting part, NFL.com’s Gil Brandt points out, is that Stafford (a neighbor of Brandt’s in the greater Dallas area) went to the same high school as Layne, football-powerhouse Highland Park High. So did Doak Walker, who followed in Layne’s cleats at Highland Park in 1944.

Brandt also notes that three top prospects, who could all go in the top five picks, went to high schools within seven miles of each other in the Dallas area — Stafford, Texas Tech wideout Michael Crabtree and Baylor tackle Jason Smith. “I don’t think that’s ever happened before,” Brandt said.

Like Layne, Walker enjoyed a Hall of Fame career with the Lions. Question is, will Stafford be next?