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Lions May Have Helped Chances Of Buccaneers Landing Suh Or McCoy

Posted Mar 5, 2010 by Anwar S. Richardson

Updated Mar 5, 2010 at 06:55 AM

Team officials said the Tampa Bay Buccaneers were not going to be active in free agency, but a late night move by the Detroit Lions may have helped the Bucs land Nebraska’s Ndamukong Suh or Oklahoma’s Gerald McCoy.

Cleveland has agreed to trade veteran defensive tackle Corey Williams to the Detroit Lions, according to the Cleveland Agrees To Trade Corey Williams To Detroit. Detroit was expected to possibly draft Suh or McCoy to help its defense with the No.2 overall pick (Tampa Bay picks third), but here is what the article said:

The Lions are close to completing a trade with the Cleveland Browns for veteran defensive tackle Corey Williams, a league source confirmed Thursday night.

Williams, 29, seemed to be a poor fit at defensive end in the Browns’ 3-4 defensive scheme, and with a $1.7 million roster bonus due this month the Browns may have opted to release him. According to ESPN, the Lions will give up a “low draft pick,” possibly one of their two fifth-rounders in 2010.

Williams, who will take a physical Friday in Detroit to complete the deal, is scheduled to earn $4.2 million next season, with annual salaries averaging about $5 million the following three seasons on his current deal. The Browns acquired the 6-foot-4, 320-pounder from the Packers for a second-round pick in 2008 after he posted back-to-back seasons with seven sacks.
With Williams in place, Detroit may look into another direction and possibly draft an offensive lineman to help protect quarterback Matthew Stafford.

There is also increased speculation that St. Louis might draft Oklahoma QB Sam Bradford No.1 overall, and if the Lions believe they no longer need a defensive tackle, Tampa Bay may have its pick of Suh or McCoy.

However, MLive.com reporter Tom Kowalski believes the Lions will still draft Suh.

Here is what he wrote in his article Lions Trade For Browns DT:

The acquisition of Williams should not have any bearing on the possibility Detroit will draft Nebraska tackle Ndamukong Suh with the second overall pick. While both players are better suited for the “three-technique,” they both would play inside in nickel situations.