On the surface it would seem that the Detroit Lions, lacking some offensive weapons in the running game, and free agent running back Reggie Bush are a match made in heaven. Lions' wide receiver Nate Burleson even went on ESPN to actively recruit Mr. Bush to Detroit. However, Bush is not the player he was and went he is put behind the O line in Detroit his deficiencies will become more readily apparent.
Reggie is not a three down back, and the Lions already have a player that they use to change the pace of games with in Joique Bell. They also have Mikel Leshoure, who is more of the work horse back. What role will Reggie play in Detroit? Well that is not an easy question to answer, but the theory is Bush would take up the role in the Detroit offense that was scripted for Jahvid Best.
Bush would have more value to the Lions if he could also return punts, something he has done at the NFL level but did not do much of the last two years with the Miami Dolphins. With limited cap room to work with it seems improper to tie up four to five million dollars in Bush who is not the game changer this running attack needs. In fact the Lions should first fix their offensive line before wasting any more resources on running backs. Running backs in the NFL have a very limited shelf life and Bush is 28, and has been in the league for seven seasons.
On top of all that the number one rule of NFL free agency always has to be production value not name value. This is a mistake the Lions continually make in free agency (QB Scott Mitchell and Damien Woody to name a few). Bush is a name, but he is a player with a lot of miles on him and putting behind an O live whose biggest weakness is run blocking is not a great combination.
However, the Lions set their season behind in 2012 by failing to make a move at RB, so it is hard to hate on them for trying something or anything. Who knows maybe the catch lightning in the bottle and Bush becomes an important piece of the Lions offensive attack.
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