- Messages
- 79,281
- Reaction score
- 45,652
LIONS COMMENCE NEGOTIATIONS FOR NO. 1 PICK
Posted by Mike Florio on March 22, 2009, 7:30 p.m.
The Detroit Lions
hold the first overall pick in the draft. And they have the ability, if they so choose, to sign the player to a contract in advance of the draft.
According to Tom Kowalski of Mlive.com, the Lions have commenced the process of negotiating a contract with “their first-round draft pick.”
The player has yet to be identified.
Though the early portions of the report from Kowalski imply that the Lions are talking to only one player, quotes in the story suggest that the Lions plan to expand the process.
“We have to have robust dialogue with the agents of the players we’re interested in,” Lions president Tom Lewand said. “We’ve started that process and we’ve made it very clear to all of them that we have to have that as this month draws to a close.”
Consequently, we must break from our recent habit of bashing the Lions and applaud them.
The Lions should be talking to multiple players, if for no reason other than to leverage their actual favorite into taking a lower deal. If, along the way, their second choice is willing to take a much lower contract, then the Lions might decide to take that guy, instead.
“We won’t put a timetable on it,” Lewand said. “From our standpoint, it’s whenever everything that needs to come together, comes together. There’s no timetable one way or the other. If we make the decision and [G.M.] Martin [Mayhew] and [coach] Jim [Schwartz] and everybody else is comfortable with it and we can come to a contract with the guy, there’s no reason we can’t do that tomorrow. If we can’t — and any one of those pieces isn’t in place — and it doesn’t get done until the night before the draft, that’s fine, too.
“Whenever the muffin rises above the tin, it’s time to eat.”
OK, that last part was stupid. But we otherwise agree completely with everything Lewand is saying.
Posted by Mike Florio on March 22, 2009, 7:30 p.m.
The Detroit Lions
hold the first overall pick in the draft. And they have the ability, if they so choose, to sign the player to a contract in advance of the draft.According to Tom Kowalski of Mlive.com, the Lions have commenced the process of negotiating a contract with “their first-round draft pick.”
The player has yet to be identified.
Though the early portions of the report from Kowalski imply that the Lions are talking to only one player, quotes in the story suggest that the Lions plan to expand the process.
“We have to have robust dialogue with the agents of the players we’re interested in,” Lions president Tom Lewand said. “We’ve started that process and we’ve made it very clear to all of them that we have to have that as this month draws to a close.”
Consequently, we must break from our recent habit of bashing the Lions and applaud them.
The Lions should be talking to multiple players, if for no reason other than to leverage their actual favorite into taking a lower deal. If, along the way, their second choice is willing to take a much lower contract, then the Lions might decide to take that guy, instead.
“We won’t put a timetable on it,” Lewand said. “From our standpoint, it’s whenever everything that needs to come together, comes together. There’s no timetable one way or the other. If we make the decision and [G.M.] Martin [Mayhew] and [coach] Jim [Schwartz] and everybody else is comfortable with it and we can come to a contract with the guy, there’s no reason we can’t do that tomorrow. If we can’t — and any one of those pieces isn’t in place — and it doesn’t get done until the night before the draft, that’s fine, too.
“Whenever the muffin rises above the tin, it’s time to eat.”
OK, that last part was stupid. But we otherwise agree completely with everything Lewand is saying.
