While cornerbacks are flying off the market at a pretty high rate, the market for middle linebackers has been pretty stagnant. There just hasn't been much activity with middle linebackers, which is good news for the Detroit Lions. Stephen Tulloch has been a free agent for a full day now, and so far there has been no news about him setting up visits or even drawing interest from other teams. It was originally expected that he would have a few teams interested in him as soon as free agency began, but as things stand right now, all is quiet on that front.

The Lions have reportedly been negotiating with Tulloch to get a new deal done, but they have also been linked to David Hawthorne, who has been mentioned as a possible backup plan. If the Lions can't re-sign Tulloch, they may try to pursue Hawthorne, but Hawthorne may not be a free agent for too much longer. Here's why:

#Seahawks LB David Hawthorne will visit the #Saints on Friday according to sources. #Lions Tulloch's options are slowly decreasing #NFL

— Anwar Richardson (@AnwarRichardson) March 14, 2012

As pointed out in the tweet, Hawthorne visiting the Saints may actually be a good thing. As teams with fill their need for a middle linebacker, Tulloch has fewer places he can potentially end up. Just like last year, we may see a situation where Tulloch was expected to go elsewhere but ultimately ends up signing with the Lions. There just doesn't seem to be a huge market for middle linebackers, and in the end that could be a very good thing for Detroit.