SPORTS

These free agents would be a fit with the Lions

Justin Rogers
The Detroit News

Allen Park — With the 2016 season in the books, the Detroit Lions will shortly begin shaping the roster for the 2017 campaign. That begins in under two months with free agency. (Go through the gallery above to see 10 free agents who would be a good fit for the Lions. Mobile users click here)

General manager Bob Quinn’s first signing period with the franchise had some hits and some misses. The crown jewel of the class, wide receiver Marvin Jones, more or less delivered with 55 catches for 930 yards.

Wide receiver Anquan Boldin, cornerback Johnson Bademosi and safeties Tavon Wilson and Rafael Bush also lived up to expectations, while running back Stevan Ridley, guard Geoff Schwartz, defensive end Wallace Gilberry and wide receiver Jeremy Kerley ultimately offered little.

“That’s kind of how free agency goes, you’re never going to bat 1.000 in free agency,” Quinn said. “Ideally, I think I said this year ago, that I believe in building the team through the draft and then you supplement through free agency. We’ve looked at a lot of the free agents, I’ve looked at a number of them myself. If we feel there’s a good fit there, we’ll go ahead and do that.”

Lions’ Quinn faces weighty decisions on Reiff, Warford

There are plenty of big names on the market, many who could help the Lions. The question is, how much is Quinn willing to spend? It’s easy to look at the top of the market, players like Carolina defensive tackle Kawann Short, and see how they would immediately improve the roster. But you’re looking at a contract that would likely run north of $15 million per season.

The Lions will have plenty of cap space to work with come March. With plenty of spots meriting an upgrade, here are 10 free agents, at various tiers, who could be fits.

jdrogers@detnews.com

Twitter: @justin_rogers