The Detroit Lions found a breakout star in pass rusher Aidan Hutchinson through last year’s draft, and this summer could add a talented counterpart in free agency.
Bleacher Report’s Kristopher Knox named the Lions as a top candidate to land New England Patriots linebacker Josh Uche in free agency. The 25-year-old is coming off a season with double-digit sacks and is expected to generate some interest when he hits the open market next season, but Knox believes the Lions could have the cap space to make the deal and significantly boost their defense.
Lions Go After ‘High-Value’ Pass Rusher
Uche is in the final year of his rookie contract with the Patriots, facing an uncertain future one year after his breakout season. He had 11.5 sacks in 2022, though injuries have slowed him this year and led to a dip in output.
Still, Knox wrote that he would still have plenty of value on the open market, especially to a team that already has an established pass rusher to pair with him.
“While Uche still has the upside that he flashed last season, his value will be highest to a team that already has one established pass-rusher,” Knox wrote. “The 25-year-old greatly benefited from playing alongside a healthy Matthew Judon in 2022.”
While Knox believes the Cleveland Browns could be a suitor, the Lions might have an even stronger bid if they choose to go after Uche, he wrote.
“Detroit is projected to have $58.8 million in cap space, and it could use a complement to budding star Aidan Hutchinson,” Knox wrote. “There’s no telling how No. 2 edge-rusher James Houston (injured reserve, ankle fracture) will perform upon his return, and it’s not as if the Lions couldn’t use a three-deep rotation.”
Some insiders thought the Lions would go after Uche even sooner. A to Z Sports’ Mike Payton suggested that he could be a target at the recently passed trade deadline, though the Lions ultimately only made one move, adding wide receiver Donovan Peoples-Jones.
Lions Get Another Look at Their Own Breakout Edge Rusher
The Lions could soon have a better chance to evaluate their own breakout pass rusher, with Houston expected to return from injured reserve. Houston has been out since breaking his ankle on a special teams play in Week 2, but Lions head coach Dan Campbell said this week that he could return to the team within the month.
“Yeah, I think so,” Campbell said, via Jeremy Reisman of SB Nation’s Pride of Detroit. “We’ll see. That’s another one. Some of these guys that we’ve got on IR, it’s just part of the rehab process. What he had was pretty clean, so the rehab to it the healing should be pretty clean. But, there again, if it happens, we’re talking about December. So we’ll see.”
Houston looked strong in limited time with the Lions so far. He had eight sacks in seven games in 2022, his rookie season, but has seen his second season shortened by injuries. Hutchinson had 9.5 sacks last year, his rookie season, and has another 4.5 so far this year.
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