Not Many Lions' Free Agents Will Be Re-Signed Based on History

In 2019, Detroit general manager Bob Quinn re-signed five of the team's free agents

Bob Quinn has not been known to re-sign a significant amount of the team's free agents the past couple of seasons.

According to a recent report from ESPN Lions beat writer Michael Rothstein, Detroit only retained five of its free agents in 2019. 

As Rothstein writes, "It can be a long month for those who are waiting, a tenuous time for players not under NFL contract yet for 2020. And for the Detroit Lions and other teams deciding on what players to retain or outside free agents to pursue.

Based on general manager Bob Quinn’s prior history, don’t expect the Lions to re-sign a ton of their free agents. Last year, Detroit re-signed five players, and of those, only three played for Detroit in 2019: Steve Longa, Don Mulbach and Romero Okwara."

Of the 17 free agents Detroit will evaluate this offseason, a significant number are likely not going to be retained by a team that went 3-12-1 in 2019.

Here is the complete list of Lions free agents:

QB Jeff Driskel, RB J.D. McKissic, WR Danny Amendola, WR Jermaine Kearse, TE Logan Thomas, OL Kenny Wiggins, OL Graham Glasgow, OL Oday Aboushi, DT Mike Daniels, DT A/Shawn Robinson , DL Darius Kilgo, DT Jamie Meder, CB Rashaan Melvin, S Tavon Wilson, S Miles Killebrew, P Sam Martin, LS Don Muhlbach

There is an argument that can be legitimately made to not retain any of the aforementioned names. 

Glasgow and Amendola were two of the most productive and reliable players on the squad in 2019. 

Their services will likely be coveted around the league -- which makes them likely candidates to move on to other teams.

As the offseason progresses, it will be noteworthy to pay attention to which players from the 2019 roster will be brought back in a make-or-break season for the franchise.  

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