The Detroit Lions headed into the 2013 NFL offseason with a lot of question marks. Several key players were scheduled to be free agents, restricted or otherwise, and a couple other players who were starters were straight up released. There is the potential for the Lions to look very different next season, but that would mean a lot of questions marks in free agency and the NFL Draft. However, the Lions have now decided to bring back at least one player. They have re-signed DeAndre Levy.
OK, so this isn't a big re-signing like a Cliff Avril or Chris Houston would be, but it's notable to be sure. Levy has started 50 games for the Lions since being drafted in the third round in 2009. He's not a good linebacker, but he's decent, and he's worthy of being a starter in the NFL. The details of the contract aren't known, but as long as they didn't overpay him I am fine with this deal. The word on the street is that the deal is for three years, which is reasonable enough, especially in the NFL where the length of a contract can usually be put in quotation marks. The Lions have re-signed a solid linebacker in his prime, one who knows the system, to a three-year deal. That works for me.
Hopefully Detroit re-signs Justin Durant as well. That would secure the linebacking corps for the upcoming season, allowing them to focus on the secondary and the defensive ends. They could also potentially see themselves needing to do something with the offensive line. I'm not saying they should re-sign Durant just to be done with it, to check it off the to-do list. I'm just saying an outside linebacker spot is lower on the priority list, and Durant suffices.
Will the Lions re-sign anymore of their own free agents before the free agency period opens? They didn't franchise anybody this year. If Detroit doesn't sign any more deals before free agency, it is going to be a very interesting, perhaps nerve-wracking, time to be a Lions fan.
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