Lions make a trade, do some other things

June 28, 11:42 AMDetroit Lions ExaminerChris Morgan

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Meet the newest Lions, Dennis Northcutt. (AP Photo)

Throughout the offseason practices thus far, there is one player that has really stood out. That man is safety Louis Delmas. As such, the Lions had a bit of a surplus at safety. Well, they've dipped into said surplus to make a trade, giving up Gerald Alexander for Jacksonville Jaguars wide receiver Dennis Northcutt.

Now, I haven't seen much of Northcutt, and the Jaguars Examiner can probably give better insight then I can. However, it seems like kind of an odd move. Not so much trading away a safety, but trading for Northcutt. The past two seasons in Jacksonville, Northcutt has caught 44 balls, in 2007 he had four touchdowns and in 2008 he had two. Not exactly great numbers. All told in his career, he has been decent but not anything spectacular. Additionally, he will now be fighting for playing time with Ronald Curry, Bryant Johnson, and rookie Derrick Williams. Considering Williams is likely to get most of the time in the slot, it's between the three veterans to duke it out. Considering none of them are particularly good players, perhaps some competition is a good thing.

However, it would have been a wiser move for the Lions to try and make a trade for a defensive or offensive lineman. Those are the two positions of greatest need for Detroit, and being able to find a player for one of the lines, even merely a decent player, would have done the Lions more good than Northcutt will. Of course, the Lions were at the mercy of who was on the market, so they did what they could. I don't fault the Lions for trading Alexander for Northcutt, but I do with they could have gotten something better.

As for Alexander, I really think he has a lot of promise. As a rookie, I liked what I saw in him, and I thought he had the chance to be a really good player in this league. Then last season, he suffered that very serious neck injury he is still trying to come back from. So far, he has progressed well and will hopefully be able to get back to playing sooner rather than later. Though he now is in Jacksonville, I will still be rooting for him and I hope he fulfills his promise. However, with Delmas showing so much potential Alexander was expendable. Of course, if Delmas doesn't live up to his potential, then maybe this trade will look regrettable in the future. That won't be known for a couple seasons, however.

The Lions have made another move recently, in locking up Dominic Raiola with a four year extension. Now normally, the words "Detroit Lions offensive lineman" and "four year extension" would irk me to say the least. However, if there is one guy on the offensive line that is worth keeping around, it is Raiola. That's not to say that he's a Pro Bowl caliber center, but he is good. Of course, this now means that Raiola, Stephen Peterman, and Gosder Cherilus are all under contract for quite some time, with Jeff Backus signed through 2010. That's a lot of commitment to guys from a bad offensive line. Good thing NFL contracts aren't guaranteed. Also, fortunately that is only four guys, allowing the Lions to draft a tackle in next year's NFL Draft and slide Backus over until he can be jettisoned. However, that is for another day.

Lastly, are you in the market for a large, rundown old stadium? Well then good news, the Silverdome might be going up for auction! You might remember the Silverdome as the place where the Lions used to play before they moved to Ford Field. It was also so large that it made sell outs nigh impossible, leading to many a local blackout. Things sure have changed. Now the local blackouts are caused solely by how bad the team is. Ford Field is much better than the Silverdome was, and I really don't know what anybody would/could do with the Silverdome these days. Hopefully something happens with that site, because that is a lot of land to just be sitting there.