The two players the Lions released yesterday, wide receiver Nate Burleson and safety Louis Delmas, weren’t the most talented on the roster, but they were the “emotional centers” of their respective units, writes Kyle Meinke of MLive.com. While Meinke acknowledges that the cap figures involved made the cuts inevitable, he adds that losing two of their locker-room leaders could negatively impact the Lions’ chemistry. Here’s more out of Detroit:
- Even before the team waived Burleson and Delmas, wide receiver and safety were areas of need, according to Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press, who explores a few potential options for the Lions as they seek reinforcements at those positions.
- After relying heavily on Calvin Johnson in recent years, the Lions need to find a receiver who can not only complement him but perhaps be his eventual replacement, says ESPN.com’s Michael Robinson. Unfortunately, given the club’s cap issues, finding that receiver in free agency this offseason doesn’t appear likely.
- The Lions’ need for a second receiver is also addressed by Dan Pompei in a piece for Sports on Earth, though Pompei addresses several other areas of concern for the club as well. Among them: Matthew Stafford‘s apparent regression, Ndamukong Suh‘s huge cap number, and the need for a culture change in Detroit.