Looking Past Collective Bargaining: And The Lions Choose FA CB...

This is the final article in my series of free agent CB’s the Detroit Lions could pick up in the off-season. 

By my account, there are 24 unrestricted free agent corner backs available this year.  That feels like a lot to me.  The teams they played for last season will pick some of them back up and others will be traded or cut.  On this list of players, there is one, I believe, the Detroit Lions will sign.

So, who will it be?  

We have already looked at the likelihood of the top two free agent corner backs (Nnamdi Asomugha and Champ Bailey, respectively) coming to Detroit.  With the top two out of the running, who would the Lions target as their future CB?

The answer is Chris Houston.

Yes, the same Chris Houston who played at CB for the Lions last season and is an unrestricted free agent this year.

Why would Schwartz and Mayhew want to keep him? 

The Atlanta Falcons picked Houston up in the second round of the 2007 Draft.  He was good his first year but recorded his best stats his second year in 2008 with 61 tackles (52 solo), 16 passes defended, two interceptions and a touchdown.  In 2009 he was on track to surpass these numbers but developed a groin injury that put him out four games and limited his time in two additional games.

So what does this tell us?  Houston was getting better each year he played for the Falcons.  He was learning their system and getting comfortable.  If this plays out in Detroit, we can expect even better numbers in 2011 than in 2010. 

To recap his 2010 stats:  Houston played in 15 games.  He posted 56 tackles (50 solo), 12 passes defended, one interception (against Green Bay) and one forced fumble (against Chicago).

Houston is the kind of player the Lions coaching staff like.  He shows up and plays.  More importantly, he is flexible (two tackles recorded on special teams in 2010) and has shown he is a player who can grow into the position and become better with each game and each season (given that he stays healthy).

It is true that he was not the shutdown corner the Lions needed last season, but there is reason to believe he could develop into a high caliber player in 2011. 

So is that the end of the story? 

No.  Just this particular part of the story.

The Lions went after just about every available and cost-effective CB they could last year and none of them really panned out.  Houston showed enough guts and potential to earn the starting spot in 2010.

The Lions also have Aaron Berry who began his Rookie career this past season as the starting CB against Chicago.  He played just over one quarter before getting injured, but during that short time, he recorded three tackles, one pass defended and one interception that he ran back for 23 yards.  Not a bad start. 

However, we know very little about him, and I’m not sure what his status will be with the Lions in 2011.

Which brings us to the 2011 Draft...