Two of the most often discussed topics during the NFL lockout revolved around if the Detroit Lions were going to try to sign Stephen Tulloch and what position DeAndre Levy would end up playing if they did. Now that Tulloch is officially a Lion, speculation about Levy's position for 2011 has gone into overdrive.
All along the thinking has been that Levy will move to outside linebacker with Tulloch now on the team. Tulloch has been very successful at middle linebacker, and while the same can be said about Levy, he has experience playing outside linebacker. He has said he will play whatever position the coaches want him to, and the assumption has been that it will be one of the two outside positions. Lions head coach Jim Schwartz says not so fast on that notion, however.
On whether Tulloch will be an inside or outside linebacker for Detroit: "We’re going to let it play out and we’re going to put the best combination out there we can. One of the things we talk about when we draft or sign a linebacker, we talk about guys that are multidimensional, guys that can do a lot of different things. There are nickel roles, there are base roles, there are short yardage roles and all that different stuff; it’s what we think is the best combination when we get out there. That’s what training camp is for. None of that stuff is set in stone right now."
Schwartz went on to say that regardless of who ends up taking which spots at linebacker, the good news is the Lions finally have some solid depth at the position. He referenced the days of having to play Spencer Havner at middle linebacker because of injuries and said that going forward, the Lions "can handle a lot of different things that come up with guys that can play inside and outside."