Detroit Lions: 8 Current Contributors Who Could Be Irrelevant by 2014

It happens to the best of them.

There is no player that will not find himself replaced on the roster at some point in time; it just happens at different times for different players.

The Detroit Lions have no shortage of players on their way out the door, though many of them contributed last year, and will next year.

But time marches on, and it sweeps up dozens of solid NFL players into its wake every year.

Be it free agency, aging or roster improvement, every one of the players on this list has a justifiable reason why they may be irrelevant to the Detroit Lions three years from now. Given the Lions' turnover in the last two years, it's tempting to say there will be a lot more than these, but that's unlikely with the amount of young talent on the roster now.

Keep in mind also that this is about "contributors" becoming irrelevant. I have no doubt that Aaron Brown and Derrick Williams will be at or very near the irrelevance threshold in one year, much less three (if they're not, good for them). But what did they contribute in 2010 other than filling roster spots?

Considerably less than, for instance...

Shaun Hill

Lions fans everywhere should hope that Shaun Hill is irrelevant in Detroit three years from now.

He should be irrelevant in the same way that Curtis Painter is irrelevant in Indianapolis: a16-game benchwarmer who never sees game action because the starter plays every game and is really good.

That said, Hill has proven his mettle as a reliable backup quarterback (sometimes even a solid starting quarterback), and he may have greater value to a team with major quarterback woes than he does to the Lions as a backup.

Considering Hill was brought in to Detroit for practically nothing (seventh-round pick), getting a solid year or two out of him as a journeyman backup and shipping him off for a fourth or fifth-round pick would have to be considered a huge win for the Lions.

Either way, Hill should be re-signed by the Lions in 2012, I just don't see any reason for him to contribute as much in 2014 as he did in 2010. Whether he's traded or just a veteran clipboard jockey, it doesn't matter. Irrelevance takes many forms.

Dominic Raiola

This is news Lions fans have been waiting to hear, and that's really a shame.

Dominic Raiola has spearheaded the Detroit Lions' offensive line for as long as Jeff Backus has anchored it, and over time, neither of them has been the weakest link on the line.

Perhaps until now.

The undersized Raiola has struggled to adapt to the Lions' blocking scheme ever since Scott Linehan moved the team away from its former zone-blocking scheme.

Raiola has all the intelligence and technique in the world, but he just doesn't have the size to power run block, especially against particularly beefy defensive tackles.

At the moment, the Lions have no plans whatsoever to replace Raiola. Raiola's primary backup for 2011 isn't even certain. But his contract is up in 2013, and you have to assume a center in his mid-30s with declining physical skills won't be a priority to re-sign.

Especially when his physical skills were his greatest weakness in the first place, and he plays in a scheme that requires great physical skills.

Kyle Vanden Bosch

There is no question that Kyle Vanden Bosch is the unquestioned leader of the Detroit Lions' defense.

He's their union rep, the guy organizing team workouts during the lockout and the guy who immediately took Ndamukong Suh under his wing when he was drafted.

But if Vanden Bosch is still the team's greatest leader in 2014, that will mean two things:

1) Nobody else has stepped into a leadership role, which would be troubling with lots of young, talented players.

2) The Lions re-signed a 35-year-old defensive end in 2013.

I love KVB, but neither of those scenarios bode well for the Lions as a young, developing team.

Zack Follett

Zack Follett has been a fan favorite since the day he was drafted.

After going in the seventh round of the 2009 NFL Draft, Follett sent an ultimatum to the rest of the NFL that he planned to inflict pain on 31 teams for not drafting him.

For one season, as perhaps the most well-known special teams coverage man in the NFL, he did just that. He only racked up a handful of tackles, but every one of them rattled bones.

As a reward (and also because the Lions had no better options), he earned a starting spot at weakside linebacker in 2010. Follett fizzled, and suffered a frightening neck injury against the New York Giants that ended his season.

Since then, nothing has gone quite right for Follett. His doctors have told him that if he takes another shot like he did last year, he could be looking at permanent paralysis. With his career on one hand, and his long-term health on the other, Follett is looking at a very tough decision.

Even though it appears Follett will give it another go, he has a lot working against him.

Will he play with the same reckless abandon he became known for with that knowledge constantly nagging at him?

And will there still be a roster spot waiting for him either way?

Special teams coordinator Danny Crossman is not going to want to put Follett back out on kickoffs, knowing he could get the kid paralyzed or worse on his watch. Kick coverage is diminished in value with the rule change moving kicks out to the 35-yard line, anyway.

But Follett was stiff and unintuitive with the defense, and the Lions have better options on the roster as well as an upcoming free agency period to improve the roster further.

So with all that in mind, where does Follett fit next year, much less three years from now?

Nate Burleson

Nate Burleson figures to have a revival of sorts in the next couple years, with the Detroit Lions' offense looking like it's ready to pull everything together.

Burleson should be at the epicenter of things, with Calvin Johnson and Titus Young stretching the field deep, giving a big open space in the middle for Burleson to work.

But Burleson is going to be 30, and an infusion of youth threatens his long-term viability. Burleson is under contract through 2014, so it won't be free agency that makes him irrelevant.

Titus Young is already pushing him one spot down the depth chart, and even though the slot role makes more sense for him, the Lions have a handful of guys suited to that role, as well.

And even if Burleson holds his own against the guys on the roster now, is it so far-fetched that the Lions pick up another effective receiver in the next three years that displaces the $5 million-a-year Burleson?

Jeff Backus

I'm on record as saying Jeff Backus isn't half as bad as the heat he gets.

I'm on record as saying the Lions should re-sign him.

I'm also on record as saying that if he's still the Lions' starting left tackle in 2012, something is very, very wrong. He has been decent, and he has played well under Scott Linehan, but his time as a starter is just about up.

Backus is kind of like a nuclear power plant. About 99 percent of the time, he's a solid, dependable high-output player.

But when he fails, everybody knows it and it's an epic catastrophe.

I suspect that the reason he has yet to be replaced is related to the $6.45 million earmarked for him in 2011.

Although there are rumblings that the Lions are looking to give him a contract extension, Backus will be 37 in 2014. It's hard to see Backus continuing on for that long at his current level.

Even Orlando Pace looked like a shuffling corpse at that age. What will Backus look like?

Corey Williams

As long as we're talking about people fading into irrelevance, how about that Brett Favre? And the Minnesota Vikings?

But I digress.

When the Detroit Lions drafted Nick Fairley in the 2011 NFL Draft, most people thought that meant Sammie Hill was the odd man out.

Of course, that's only because they forgot about Andre Fluellen, who may as well have been cut immediately following that pick.

But the next one out of town may not be Hill at all. Hill still has a whole lot of upside, and he has improved rapidly in just two short seasons.

Williams is rather beastly in his own right, and he isn't over the hill yet (he turns 31 in August). But he's probably as good now as he's ever going to be, and his contract is up at the end of the 2012 season.

Given Jim Schwartz's desire to stockpile defensive tackles—particularly young ones— is it so far-fetched that Williams is replaced by another Sammie Hill-like project pick, as Hill himself continues to progress?

It seems to make sense, considering Williams is making almost $5 million for the next two years, and Hill is making a small fraction of that to play at very nearly the same level.

Maurice Morris

I feel bad putting Maurice Morris up here. All MoMo does is step up when his number is called, and do whatever is asked of him.

Twice now the man has had to fill in for an injured Kevin Smith, and in both cases he has outperformed Smith.

Morris has never been flashy, but he's solid, and he's good for three or four tough yards up the middle on first down just about every time.

Now, of course, the Lions have Mikel Leshoure to do that sort of dirty work, and he's bigger, younger, stronger and faster. That means Morris is relegated once again to the dreaded third spot in a two-back system.

On one hand, that should be a great way to keep the 31-year-old fresh as he approaches the twilight of his career. On the other hand, 40 touches a season as a reliable backup isn't exactly what one refers to as "relevant."