If the Detroit Lions are unable to re-sign middle linebacker Stephen Tulloch, a spot in the starting lineup will open up. The Lions could fill that spot with DeAndre Levy, who can play outside and middle linebacker. The Lions also could look to the free agent market to fill the hole, and one player who is already being talked about as a possible option is David Hawthorne.

While the Lions are deciding what to do at MLB, including whether to re-sign Tulloch, they're showing interest in David Hawthorne, I'm told.

— Adam Caplan (@caplannfl) March 13, 2012

Hawthorne completed his fourth season in the NFL with the Seattle Seahawks in 2011. He appeared in 15 games and had 115 total tackles, two sacks, six pass defenses, three interceptions and one touchdown. Those numbers are pretty impressive.

While the ideal scenario for the Lions would be to re-sign Tulloch, who has had a year in their defensive system, landing Hawthorne instead would not be a bad consolation prize by any means.