The Lions have been active in free agency, and they’re making another move. Detroit is signing cornerback Rashaan Melvin to a one-year deal, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN (Twitter link).
The Lions brought Melvin in for a visit on Wednesday, and apparently liked what they saw. Per Schefter, the deal will pay Melvin $3.5MM. Melvin comes to the Lions after spending the 2018 season with the Raiders. He began the year as a starter, but didn’t play well and was benched. He ended up making 14 appearances for Oakland, with seven starts.
His down year with the Raiders was somewhat surprising, since he was coming off a couple of strong years with the Colts. In 2017 he appeared in ten games, starting all ten, and had three interceptions with 13 passes defended. He got $5.5MM from the Raiders last offseason, so his most recent campaign clearly hurt his market value.
The Northern Illinois product will now get a much-needed fresh start. Overall, it’s a nice low-risk signing for a Lions team that is in the middle of rebuilding their defense in Matt Patricia’s vision. If Melvin can get back to his pre-2018 form, he could be a nice addition to Detroit’s secondary alongside Darius Slay.
I hope they still look corner early in the draft but this might have axed that plan. I am just happy to see someone other then Nevin Lawson out there.