According to John Clayton, the Lions have traded safety Gerald Alexander to the Jaguars for wide receiver Dennis Northcutt.  Apparently Northcutt found out a trade was imminent earlier in the week, but nothing happened until today.  The Lions weren't interested in parting with a draft pick, so they decided to send Alexander to Jacksonville.

Alexander was drafted in 2007 and started every game during his rookie year.  A neck injury ended his season early last year after only starting one game.  Although Alexander has recovered well from his injury, he became expendable after Louis Delmas was drafted and Marquand Manuel was signed.  I was actually just thinking earlier today that the safety position was getting a bit crowded, so I'm not too surprised that Alexander was dealt to the Jaguars.  This leaves the Lions with Delmas, Manuel, Kalvin Pearson, Daniel Bullocks, Stuart Schweigert, and LaMarcus Hicks at the safety position.

Northcutt is entering his tenth season in the league.  He played for the Browns from 2000 to 2006 before signing a five-year deal with the Jaguars in 2007.  He put up solid stats at receiver in Jacksonville and occasionally returned punts.

In other news, the Lions signed undrafted rookie wide receiver Kenneth Harris, who played at Georgia, and released offensive lineman James Blair, formerly of Western Michigan.