If the Philadelphia Eagles’ Super Bowl victory over the Kansas City Chiefs taught us anything, it’s how important a sound defense can be — and that’s something the Detroit Lions should take note of.
More specifically, the Eagles dominated the Chiefs with an incredible pass-rush, which is an area the Lions must beef up. But as we also saw on Sunday, having a talented secondary helps and the Lions have a major question mark in that area.
After a strong first season in Detroit, Carlton Davis is set to hit free agency and isn’t guaranteed to return. If he doesn’t come back, the Lions will be forced to start Ennis Rakestraw Jr., either in the slot or on the boundary. The problem with that is the Missouri product is still a wild card after not doing much in Year 1.
With that in mind, the Lions would be wise to add a veteran cornerback if Davis is not back in 2025. One player they could target is New York Jets pending free-agent cornerback, D.J. Reed, who USA TODAY’s Nick Brinkerhoff predicts will land in Detroit.
As Brinkerhoff points out, Reed has been criminally underrated while playing across from Sauce Gardner for three seasons.
In 2024, Reed posted his best season with the Jets and one of the best campaigns of his career. He surrendered a completion rate of 57.1% and a passer rating of 87.1, numbers that are comparable to Davis’.
Reed, who just finished the final year of his $33 million deal, has made it quite clear he intends on playing elsewhere in 2025. Joining a contending team like the Lions should be intriguing after three years of losing in New York.
“I’m ready to go to free agency, bro,” Reed told Tyler Dunne of Go Long. “I’m ready to see what’s next for me.”.
According to Spotrac, Reed is projected for a four-year, $58.6 million deal in free agency, which works out to $14.7 million annually. That would be a reasonable price for the caliber of corner Reed is.
Per Over the Cap, the Lions are projected to have $46.5 million in cap space before making any cuts, so there is definitely enough space to fit Reed in.
With Reed in the mix, the Lions could start him opposite Terrion Arnold, and then Rakestraw and Amik Robertson can battle it out for the slot, where Rakestraw says the team planned to start him before his injury.
We would assume that if the Lions want to bring in a starting-caliber veteran cornerback, they would first try to re-sign Davis. But if that proves impossible, Reed would be one heck of a consolation prize.
