The Detroit Lions have bolstered their pass rush ahead of next week’s NFL trade deadline by adding veteran defensive-end Everson Griffen from the Cowboys.
Heading to Dallas will be a conditional sixth-round draft pick in 2021.
Now there’s a few things to take note of regarding this trade.
First, it’s a good move for Detroit. Griffen signed a one-year deal with the Cowboys last offseason so the Lions won’t be on the hook for much when it comes to the cap. Not to mention a sixth-round pick for a proven veteran pass rusher is as low risk as you can get. Especially for a team like the Lions who has seen improvement on the defensive line when it comes to getting at the quarterback but still rank near the bottom of the NFL when it comes to overall pass rush win rate.
Second, the move gives Griffen a chance at a quick reboot on the season.
After being a dominating pass rusher for the Vikings for the past decade, Griffen wasn’t finding his grove with Dallas notching just three sacks so far this season. This coming after Griffen was good for at least eight sacks in five of the last six seasons according to SB Nation.
Note too the timing of this deal.
Given the NFL’s COVID-19 protocols this season, the NFL will likely see a “soft” and “hard” trade deadline over the next week. Thursday could serve as that soft deadline giving teams the opportunity to get newly acquired players on the field quicker than the hard November 3rd deadline. So essentially the Lions will have Griffen available to them for week nine against the Vikings rather than week 10 when they take on Washington.
Any help that Griffen could offer up Detroit against his old team will likely be very well take by the Lions as they look to see if they can get themselves into that expanded playoff picture.
