Lions Urged to Consider Reunion With Former Starting Defensive Back
Fortunately, the Detroit Lions received a great update on injured cornerback Terrion Arnold on Tuesday. ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported a second opinion indicated Arnold’s shoulder injury is not season-ending. Furthermore, Arnold could only need about a month to recover.
That prognosis means the Lions might be less inclined to add another cornerback. However, if Arnold lands on injured reserve, a cornerback addition for Detroit still makes sense. In addition to Arnold, Lions cornerbacks Ennis Rakestraw, D.J. Reed and Khalil Dorsey also have injured.
SI on Lions‘ Emmett Matasovky named seven external cornerback options for the Lions to consider. One of the more intriguing possibilities Matasovky proposed was former Detroit defensive back Jerry Jacobs.
“Jacobs is another veteran with experience in Detroit, playing during the first three years of the Brad Holmes and Dan Campbell era,” wrote Matasovky.
He started 12 games for the Lions during their NFC Championship appearance year in 2023, picking off three passes. However, that year, Jacobs has not appeared in a regular season game since.
“He spent all of 2024 out of football, too. However, he has stayed in shape for football, as the Cowboys and Colts have each worked him out since June.
His 12 starts in 2023 were a career high for Jacobs. However, he lost his starting role after Week 14 of that season. Jacobs then barely played in the final four games and didn’t dress for any of the team’s playoff matchups.
Since then, Jacobs has spent time with the Los Angeles Rams. But he hasn’t appeared in another NFL game since 2023. The Dallas Cowboys and Indianapolis Colts didn’t sign him to contracts following his workouts with those teams.
Why the Lions Could Sign CB Jerry Jacobs
Based on Schefter’s report, Arnold could return by Halloween. That makes the urgency for the Lions to add a cornerback much lower than originally expected to begin this week.
So, if the team adds a defensive back, it would make sense that he has experience but is also a veteran that could play a reserve role when Arnold returns.
As long as he is still in football shape, Jacobs fits that mold. He has started 29 NFL games, all of which came with the Lions. Jacobs is familiar with Detroit’s defensive system and could probably contribute immediately (if in shape).
In 15 games during 2023, he posted 55 combined tackles, including two tackles for loss. Jacobs also had eight pass defenses and three interceptions.
In addition to Jacobs, Matasovsky named former Lions defensive back C.J. Gardner-Johnson a potential external cornerback option for Detroit. But on Tuesday, the Baltimore Ravens signed Gardner-Johnson.
Cornerbacks DiCaprio Bootle, Cameron Dantzler, Melvin Smith Jr., Fabian Moreau and Tre Hawkins were the other external candidates that made Matasovsky’s list.
Trade: The Titans are trading defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons for either a first-round pick or a second- and third-round pick
I realize his value is at an all-time high & likely won’t be higher than it is this season but I just think it’s better to keep the best player on the team.
He doesn’t have any more guaranteed money on his current contract & changed agents this offseason. He will 100% be expecting a new contract before next season. He’s playing at an All-Pro level so far & is in position to earn top of the market DT money on his new contract. I’d expect his new deal to land somewhere in the $28mil-$30mil a year range. That would make him the 2nd highest paid DT in the NFL behind only #Chiefs DT #ChrisJones.
If teams were interested in trading for him they would have to pay him $28mil-$30mil plus give up significant draft capital. It would have to be either a 1st round pick or a 2nd & 3rd round pick to even consider it imo.
I personally wouldn’t even consider the 2nd & 3rd round offer simply because the odds of either of those picks getting the Titans a player on the same level of Simmons is extremely low. I would only consider the 1st round pick offer but the problem with that is it would likely be a late 1st round pick because it only makes sense for a contender to trade for him. Contenders will likely go deep into the playoffs & end up selecting in the bottom of the 1st round.
Sure you could use that late 1st to either trade up or down but you aren’t guaranteed a trade partner. Same argument could be used for the offer of a 2nd & 3rd round pick. Using one or both to trade up back into the first round is very enticing but again, not a guarantee you will get a trade partner. There are big risks to trading away your best player in the hopes of getting 1 or more players who will end up being high end caliber talents.
I just think Simmons offers more for the Titans in two-tone blue than with another team. They have a lot of holes already & will be making more when they look to trade other players currently on the roster.
Jeffery Simmons is incredible
Simmons is on an All-Pro path this season. He leads all defensive tackles in sacks, pressures, tackles for loss, and solo tackles, which means that no matter what you try to do on offense, there is no interior defender an offense hates seeing more than Simmons.
It is still early, so this will fluctuate, but he is currently tracking to record 12 sacks, 31 QB hits, 20 TFLs, and 54 solo tackles. That gives you an idea of how dominant Simmons has been this year, and it is a stark reminder of how much this fan base undervalues one of the best defensive players in the NFL.
