Mike O'Hara of the Detroit News is reporting that the Lions have recently been in contact with former pro-bowl quarterback Daunte Culpepper and former pro-bowl linebacker Takeo Spikes. However, the proposition of signing with the Lions came about differently for each player.
Culpepper contacted the Lions himself via a phone call. He is currently acting as his own agent and must have exhausted most of his resources already—the Lions are not a team in need of a veteran quarterback.
The Lions don't have a solid offensive line either, which isn't something an injury prone quarterback should be looking for in a new team.
It wouldn't hurt to bring Culpepper into camp however. Current starter Jon Kitna isn't getting any younger and back-ups Drew Stanton and Dan Orlovsky have no NFL experience to speak of. If Kitna gets injured this season, the Lions don't have a solid back-up plan. Signing Culpepper could help change that.
Spikes on the other hand was contacted by Detroit and recently visited the team. Spikes also has injury issues, but would be a useful addition to a primarily young linebacker corps.
Spikes could play outside linebacker opposite of Ernie Sims, which would let Paris Lenon and rookie Jordon Dizon split time playing middle linebacker. This would give the Lions plenty of speed on the outside and give Dizon more time to adjust before starting full time.
Spikes would be a great fit for Detroit, and is one of the best free agents currently available. Culpepper may not fit as well, but an extra arm during training camp can't be a bad thing.
My advice? Sign Spikes and soon. At worst he gives Detroit a better back-up. At best he becomes a solid defensive contributor, something the Lions definitely could use. As far as Culpepper goes, I'd say try him out and see if he doesn't have something left to give.
comments (2) write a comment »
write a new comment
2 months ago
I'm not a big Kitna fan, so I don't see the harm in bringing in Daunte Culpepper. And Spikes is still a useful player. All in all, these would be solid moves for short money.
2 months ago
Agreed. I think that Culpepper and Spikes could be had at very reasonable prices, and would be great additions to the Lions roster. With the loss of Boss Bailey, Spikes becomes (in my opinion) an instant favorite to win the starting OLB job across from Ernie Sims.
And Culpepper gives a viable backup option should Kitna get injured this season.
Great article
write a new comment