Way back in August of 2000
T.J. Hockenson Detroit Lions Jersey , I was just a innocent freshmen in high school that still played with action figures in my room. Who needs friends and a girlfriend
when I can put on my own Wrestlemania in the privacy of my room while I listen
to Ludacris? Not to mention, if a girl talked to me in 2000, I would stutter,
turn red and nearly pass out. Anyways, I had no idea the heartache I was about
to feel. The Detroit Pistons had decided to trade Grant Hill to the Orlando
Magic. You have to understand, throughout my childhood, my bedroom was covered
with posters and plaques that featured Grant. I had multiple jerseys and tons of
trading cards featuring him. We had a superstar on our basketball team. It was
great. When he left, it felt like I had lost a part of my childhood and was
forced to understand that sports is a business that often throws loyalty and fan
appreciation by the wayside. This is how I felt again on Tuesday when the Lions
traded Golden Tate to the Philadelphia Eagles. It feels like we’ve been dumped
or just got fired. It feels like we’ve lost a part for the city that felt like a
perfect fit for us. Because I felt devastated, I skipped out on writing my
weekly Wednesday column. I just felt like whatever I wrote on Tuesday night
would have been emotionally charged and would have read like a spiteful
ex-boyfriend. This was probably the best thing I could have done because it gave
me time to really think about this trade, this franchise and the direction that
everything appears to be going in. What I come away with is not what the status
quo has been so far. I don’t think the Lions are giving up on the season.
Frankly, I don’t think there are a lot of teams in sports that decide to call it
quits at any point. Even the teams that are eliminated from playoff contention
are often trying to play spoiler or just put something together for the next
season’s morale. With that said
T.J. Hockenson Jersey 2019 , the other narrative that’s floating around—the Lions being all-in on 2019—is one that I can completely get behind, and Lions fans should
to. I know nobody wants to hear it, but Rome wasn’t built in a day. This
probably needed to happen. The Lions probably weren't going to be able to keep
Tate. It just didn’t look like something that was in the cards. Really ask
yourself why Tate hadn’t been extended, when the Lions had the money to make
that move. Should they have extended him, though? The Athletic’s Chris Burke
went out and figured out what Tate will likely get when he hits free agency this
offseason. The number is pretty big. According to Spotrac, the Lions will have
just over $41 million to spend in the offseason. They could afford that if they
wanted to, but offense isn’t going to be their bag this summer. And as much as I
love Tate, and I really do, that’s a lot for a receiver that’ll be turning 31
soon. Someone will pay it, and it’ll probably be another NFC North team, because
obviously. That cap number is only going to get bigger too. The cap will rise as
it does every year and the Lions will be facing more difficult personnel
decisions. They’re going to be big players in free agency on the defensive side
of the ball. Don’t be surprised to see them aggressively go after guys like
DeMarcus Lawrence or Tyrann Mathieu to fix this defense. Add all that defensive
help that they’ll scoop up in the draft and free agency to an offense that’s
already performing pretty dang well
White T.J. Hockenson Jersey , and you have what could potentially be a really scary team. This is why the Tate trade matters. It opens up that high draft pick and
it saves the team money. But what about 2018? Are the Lions really packing it up
in Week 9 when they’re just one game back from leading the division? I don’t
think so. This team is still able to compete. They still have an improving
defense that just grabbed an elite level defensive tackle. They’re still going
to allow a lot of points, but they’re improving. The Lions also still have a
great offense full of weapons. Marvin Jones Jr. and Kenny Golladay still play
for this team. And in theory, Theo Riddick can play that Golden Tate role for
the Lions when he’s healthy. They also have a rookie running back that just one
week ago placed himself in the Offensive Rookie of the Year discussion with a
huge game against Miami. Don’t forget that he played a significant role in the
passing game against Seattle, too. Lastly, that offensive line is still
performing out there. Golden will be hard to replace. There’s absolutely no
doubt about that. He was the Lions’ best receiver this season. He’s been a
consistent force in this offense since 2014, but it’s not impossible. It might
actually change the Lions offense for the better. At least one analyst thinks
things could happen that way. It should be interesting to see if the Lions do
this sort of thing starting this weekend against the Vikings. They have a duo of
receivers that’s more than capable of doing damage to opposing defenses. There’s
a million questions behind those two. TJ Jones will obviously find himself
getting a real chance to shine after being the low man on to the totem pole
since the day he came to Detroit. But then what? Brandon Powell? Andy Jones? The
Lions really need to keep everyone healthy. Even the Lions feel the same way. We
were there on Wednesday and the team seems like they’re not planning to give up
at all. Matt Patricia is certain that this team is no slouch. Here’s what he had
to say. “We have a lot of guys that are really good on this team that can
produce and, honestly, we have confidence in everybody that’s on this team right
now, that everyone can go out and do their job. And I think we’ve seen through
the course of multiple different examples of years in the NFL where these things
happen and people move on and they keep going and they keep winning. Is it
difficult to win in this league? 100 percent it is, every single week is hard.
So we’re just going to have to work harder.”Detroit is about to enter the abyss
of the season starting this week. The next five games are going to be a real
test. They have the Vikings on Sunday, the Bears twice
Youth T.J. Hockenson Jersey , the Panthers and the undefeated Rams. At least three of those games are at home. We’re going to find out really quick as fans if it’s
time to start looking at mock drafts or if this team is way better than we
thought. I predicted this team to be a playoff team this year, and I still stand
by that even after the Tate trade. At this point, the universe just won’t let
the Lions fail. There are not a lot of 3-4 teams out there that are a win and
three rival losses away from swinging all the way up to first place. The NFL
schedule will continue to help them too. The Vikings still have to play the
Bears, Packers, Patriots and Seahawks. The Packers still have to play the
Patriots, Seahawks, Vikings, Bears and Falcons. Lastly, the Bears still play the
Lions twice, the Vikings twice, the Packers and the Rams. Lions fans are looking
at their schedule worried
T.J. Hockenson Jersey Mens , but I would bet the rest of the division is doing the same, too. Right now, this division looks like it’s gone from the best in football to
the NFC South circa 2014 when the 7-8-1 Panthers won the division crown and went
to the playoffs. All I’m saying is that the Lions may be expertly building for
tomorrow, but they’re still able to win today. And this thing is far from over.
Tracking everyone who received the franchise tag and the notable players that
didn’t."The NFL franchise tag is an easy way for teams to retain some of their
best players without committing to them long term. If there is a concern about a
player’s age or health, it’s an important tool for teams to use to keep some of
their most talented players.The deadline for team’s to designate a player with
the franchise tag is 4 p.m. ET on Tuesday. The Detroit Lions aren’t expected to
use the tag this year, but that doesn’t mean this deadline isn’t important for
Detroit. Other teams have already used the tag, meaning that certain potential
free agent targets aren’t likely to hit the market (unless they hold out and the
team removes the tag). So we’re going to be tracking all of the taggings done
this year, and will also mention some notable players that have not received the
designation. We’ll be live updating this post as news comes in, so stick around
all day until the 4 p.m. ET deadline on Tuesday.Players who have received the
franchise tag designation49ers K Robbie GouldSeahawks DE Frank ClarkTexans DE
Jadeveon ClowneyChiefs DE Dee FordFalcons DT Grady Jarrett Cowboys DE DeMarcus
Lawrence (though it’s notable Lawrence said he wouldn’t play on the franchise
tag a second consecutive year)Notable players not taggedGiants S Landon Collins
- “Unlikely” to receive tag per Ian RapoportRavens LB C.J. Mosley - Has been
told by team he’s not getting tagged per Adam SchefterVikings LB Anthony Barr -
“Not expected” to receive franchise tag per Chris TomassonPatriots DE Trey
Flowers - NE “not planning” to franchise Flowers, per Schefter UPDATE: The
deadline has passed and no last-minute tags were made. Only the six teams above
used the designation.
