Report: Lions could be in mix to trade for Buccaneers RB LeGarrette Blount | Detroit Free Press | freep.com
Reggie Bush remains one of the Lions, top targets in free agency, but they may be setting their sights on another option.According to a CBS Sports report published today, the Lions are in the mix among potential trade partners for Bucs running back LeGarrette Blount.
Blount, 26, isn,t in the same echelon as Bush and doesn,t give the Lions the perimeter threat they need to replace Jahvid Best. But he could come at a considerably lower price than Bush , possibly a fifth-round draft pick ,
oakley x metal, and with greater ease after the Bucs signed Blount to a trade-friendly $1.25-million, one-year deal today.
, Related: Lions, NFL free agency rumor mill
Lions general manager Martin Mayhew has made no secret of his need to replace Best.
,We need that shifty back that can come in and be that change-of-pace guy who can catch passes out of the backfield, Mayhew said shortly after the season. ,
oakley discount,A guy that can run routes and get one-on-one with a linebacker, and I think that,s what Jahvid gave us: a guy with some juice, some elusiveness.,
At the combine, coach Jim Schwartz downplayed the need for a Best-like back, noting that the Lions had success in 2011, when Best missed all but six games.
,It,s an important part of an offense if you have him, Schwartz said. ,But if you don,
oakley radar straight stem,t, there,s still plenty of other ways that you can move the ball and score.,
Blount is not a great receiver, but he does have some breakaway ability with five runs of 30 yards or more in 2010 and 2011.
Blount also could give the Lions something they desperately need: their first 1,000-yard rusher since Kevin Jones ran for 1,133 yards in 2004. That,s the longest drought in the NFL by two years, with Dallas and New Orleans last having 1,000-yard rushers in 2006.
Contact Carlos Monarrez: 313-222-6697 or cmonarrez@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @cmonarrez.