Hello Eric Wright, Stephen Tulloch, and Justin Durant

Stephen Tulloch

The NFL lockout is over and the Lions have made some very nice moves in free agency already.  There were a few in particular to me, that stood out as being possible difference making moves.  The signing of Stephen Tulloch is the signing that i believe will have the biggest impact.
Stephen Tulloch is a middle linebacker who spent the first five years of his career as a Tennessee Titan.  This means that he has played for Jim Schwartz before and is familiar with the scheme the Lions play.  His career has really taken off in the last two seasons.  He finished the '09 season with 121 tackles and the '10 season with 160 tackles.  These are the numbers we should expect from Tulloch this season with him playing behind such a great defensive line.  Since he is only signed to a one year contract he is going to need to continue putting up big numbers to get a big contract next season.  This is a risk for the Lions because if he has a huge year they may not be able to afford him next year, but this is a risk I think is worth taking.  This is the perfect move for the Lions considering the holes they had at linebacker coming into this season.

Justin Durant

Another big move the Lions made was signing another linebacker named Justin Durant.  Justin spent the first four years of his career in Jacksonville with the Jaguars.  This is a good move that has some big question marks.  The reason it is a good move is because when Durant plays he puts up big tackle numbers and seems to have a nose of the ball.  The big question mark on the deal is the fact that Justin is yet to play a full season in his four year career.  The most games he has played in a season came in the '08 season when he played in 14 games.  Last season he played in a career low 10 games.  If Durant can stay on the field the Lions will have improved their linebackers immensely over the offseason.

Eric Wright 

The final big signing the Lions made was that of defensive back Eric Wright.  This is another move that has some risk but also has high reward.  Eric had been with the Cleveland Browns for all 4 years of his career.  His best seasons were the '08 and '09 season when he had a combined 7 INT'S and caused 5 safeties.  He also had good tackle numbers for a defensive back finishing in the mid 60's both seasons.  After those seasons he was considered around the league as a up and comer who had a bright future ahead of him.  But last season Wright took a step backwards,  only playing in 13 games and only having one interception.  If Wright can return to his form of the '08 and '09 seasons, this could be a great signing for the Detroit Lions.  This would allow the Lions to have found the big play corner they needed without spending the big time money on some of the bigger names on the market.  If these three signings pan out the way the Lions anticipate, the playoffs should be in the very near future.