Detroit Lions Weblog

Backus Franchised, Joey Given Approval, Free Agency And League Uncertainty Begins Friday

The Lion’s designated Offensive Tackle Jeff Backus as their franchise player last week. The team was left with few options since they were unable to renegotiate Backus’s contact. Backus, who has started every game of his five year career, will try to push the Lion’s to quickly give him a new contract. The Lion’s could ill afford to lose Backus, even if his level of play has not been as high as the Lions (and their fans) would like. The market for free agent offensive linemen is relatively thin, and Backus’s consistency would garner him interest from other teams. Players (and their agents) don’t enjoy having the franchise tag applied and I believe it would benefit the Lions in the future to give Backus a new deal. The uncertainty of the future of the league’s salary cap and the league’s collective bargaining agreement may have a strong impact on the Lion’s ability to give Backus a new deal.

Recently, the Lion’s coaching staff and front office have become very vocal in their support of Joey Harrington as their starting QB. Realistically, their are few better options out there. Considering the dearth of viable NFL QB’s and the high value of the few who are available, Harrington remains the incumbent. That being said, I believe that the Lion’s will attempt to convince Harrington to re-structure his contract and will actively explore all options. With the new offensive coordinators (Martz) ability to develop quality Qb’s (and his enormous ego!), the Lion’s may have believed Harrington worthy of another look. I wouldn’t be surprised if the Lion’s quickly signed Jamie Martin to assist Martz in teaching Joey the terminology and concepts of their new offense. Also, it appears that Harrington will be reporting two weeks early for some work with Martz on the new offense.

The NFLPA and the NFL owners have been unable to work out their disagreements. THe gulf appears to be wide, I hope that Commissioner Paul Tagliabue has the good sense to force both sides back to the table before Friday. If a new Collective Bargaining Agreement is not reached by Friday, the 2007 season will be uncapped (without a salary cap). Furthermore, front office chaos could really ensue. It is not fully clear what will occur, but many speculate that a lot of high profile players will be released. It is amazing that the most sucessful professional league in the world, one who gets so many things done right, can’t find a way to work this situation out. This offseason will be one of the most influential in the history of the NFL. If that influence turns out to be good or bad remains to be seen.