Detroit Lions Weblog

Shaun Rogers to Cleveland

The long rumored trade of Shaun Rogers ended with a particularly strange turn last night. Media reports originally indicated that Rogers had been dealt to the Bengals for a third and fifth round draft pick.

Somehow, the Lions or Bengals eventually backed out of the trade, and the Lions instead dealt Rogers to the Browns for CB Leigh Bodden and a third round draft pick. The Lions addressed a serious need with the addition of a cornerback, but Bodden is not likely to be significantly better than players like Fernando Bryant or Travis Fisher were last season.

The rub is the third rounder. If Millen plays his cards right he can find instant help with that pick, or package it to trade up higher in the draft in the first or second round. That being said, to quote the Detroit Free Press’ Drew Sharp, giving Millen an additional third rounder is akin to “handing a running six year old a pair of scissors”. Very sharp ones, at that, too.

That’s what makes the decision to move Rogers ultimately so difficult. The Lions could now feature both a terrible secondary, and a huge hole in the middle of their defense that allows teams to gash them with not only their passing attack, but their ground game, too.

Lions fans have to find the faith that Bodden will eventually play much better than the team’s incumbents, and that Matt Millen will actually find a player in the third round who will contribute to the team in some form in the future. As a point of comparison, the “flat earth” theory is actually more easily digested, and infinitely more believable, than the aforementioned scenario actually playing out without a hitch.

The Lions have addressed their secondary needs with the addition of S Dwight Smith and the newly acquired CB Bodden, along with the return of CB Keith Smith, but it remains to be seen if these players will actually represent an upgrade. In the meantime, the Lions are still interested in free agents Travis Fisher, Brian Kelly, and Randall Gay and have tendered restricted free agent Stanley Wilson, Jr. If they sign Wilson, Jr. and one more free agent, corner will be a lot less of a concern entering the draft than what was originally projected.

The Lions team needs still appear to be RB, MLB, OT, DE, TE, DT, and a returns specialist. The market for defensive tackles to replace Rogers is quite thin, especially with the rash of trades (Rogers, Marcus Stroud, Kris Jenkins) that have occurred involving that position.

The Lions will bring in DT’s Chartric “Chuck” Darby and Ellis Wyms, and my belief is that they will sign Darby, since he has previously played in Tampa. Anthony “Booger” McFarland and restricted free agent Jovan Haye may also be players who pique the Lions interest since they have both played in Tampa, also. None of these players have near the ability that Rogers possessed.

The Rogers saga is now complete, finally. As a Lions fan it is bittersweet to see such a spectacularly gifted player slip from the team’s grasp. But with his inconsistent performance and his inclination towards cutting against the organizational grain, the Lions were left with little option, but to trade him.

I will still pull for Rogers to meet his potential, and find success, even if he was ultimately a surly, underachieving, locker room cancer. In these dark times within the failing Lions organization, with it’s few bright spots, even vicarious success might be perceived as some sort of up-tick, or sign of better days to come. In other words, the Lions might have found their proverbial pot of gold, or rainbow at midnight, or whatever outlandish, pie in the sky homily you can conjure to sheath your denial inside of.