Lions Interested in Oshiomogho Atogwe, Not His Salary Demands

you don’t pay a guy elite money when he’s not elite. Atogwe would be a great addition to the team, but it’s simply bad business to pay a Safety who’s never been to a Pro Bowl that much money.

would be giving him a contract that he would be paid like Troy and Ed. He’s the catch though he would have to earn it w bonuses like making the probowl, starting a certain amount of games, and etc.

Who didn’t see that as the reason Det has been mentioned much in accordance with him. Like I said before I think Mayhew has done a great job or searching all avenues of improvment. To add to that he is still a buisness man and is still writing checks that aren’t his and what if theres a cap next year do we want to be caught in a mess were we have to start cutting STAR players. Its not like he is Ed reed.

Don’t overspend if you don’t need to. There is no one player this team needs so bad that we need to break the bank to get him. Otogwe, as a player, has been inflated by us and the media because of demand. He is the only legit FA safety out there… actually, he’s the only legit FA player left out there (maybe Owens). That creates demand.

But the Lions are being smart about this. This is uncharacteristic of past Lion’s management and I love it. Be aggressive, but yet smart. Sure, he’d be a nice get, but cap the cost. My guess… he either ends up a Ram or a Lion. Yes, I think we have a good shot at getting him still.

I always worry about someone who thinks they are worth more than they are, can cause locker room problems…

i trust mayhew if we sign him then im happy if not o well

I think it is highly likely this guy ends up being a Lion. I would actually give it about an 80% chance and this is why.

Issue 1: Budget concerns. As much as people keep saying that the Lions have already spent their budget based on Nate and KVB I call shenanigans. For one we were supposed to sign Chester Taylor too and he did not come cheep. Secondly we are still expressing interest in Chester Pitts. Third we had Lito Sheppard in after both of those guys were signed. Fourth Schwartz himself has said several times that the Lions will get an addition to the club as late as training camp possibly, “that will help us win a couple of games”.

Issue 2: Playing time. A complete non issue here, he would be a starter with an extremely young and talented partner at safety.

Issue 3: Home town. Well that is in our favor too and it is the likely reason we can pay him more than any other team. If it comes down to a bidding war in a reasonable range we can actually afford to give him a little more than another club can. As pointed out before, ticket sales to Windsor natives along with merchandise and advertising dollars will all increase if we sign him.

Issue 4: Familiar faces. He has guys he knows here and that will give him an added comfort level playing for the Lions. All players will talk to and listen to other players they know and trust when moving clubs and having Jonathan Wade here, a friend of his, will definitely be in our favor. Some might think this would favor the Rams, I don’t. If he wanted to be a Ram he would be signed already.

Issue 5: Winning Team. Where to start. First off everyone is 0-0 right now. Secondly everyone knows that Detroit is a team on the rise with a good young core of not only players but a good young core of front officer personnel. Third, everyone knows it is only a matter of a year or two more in the same direction we have been going before we are contending for the Division on a regular basis. Some might take a “I will believe it when I see it approach to that”, however I say that is not necessary. Everyone and I mean literally everyone that knows anything about pro football can see the Lions moving in the right direction.

Lets just call it the planets all lining up in our favor, but many small reasons actually tip in favor of him being a Detroit Lion. When you add all those up it is a pretty overwhelming advantage for us over any other team. Some seem to think the only way we will get this guy is by over paying him. I say those people are stuck in the past and need to get with the times, those days are over for Detroit. In fact I argue the opposite point. The only way we do not get this guy is if some other team grossly overpays him.

Its just my opinion, but this guy’s skillset is being way overblown. He is good, but not great. Forget about comparing him to Polamalu or Reed, hes not even a Brian Dawkins or Antrel Rolle. We had our chances at signing a guy like Antrel Rolle early in the offseason. We could’ve overpaid him and still paid less than what Otogwe is asking for, and Rolle would’ve been a much better fit for our defense, but we didn’t. The safety position one of those positions that you can easily find/replace. I personally think we have two good, starting caliber safeties in Ko Simpson and Daniel Bullocks.