Today, in what may come to most as a surprise, starting wide receiver Corey Bradford was cut from the Lions roster. Bradford, who was signed as a free agent in the offseason, was brought in to help lead a corps of potentially talented, but very young receivers.
Bradford was listed on the depth chart as a starting wide receiver alongside Roy Williams. In the first game of the season against Seattle, Bradford had a decent day with 3 receptions for 36 yards, but hadn't recorded any stats in the last two games.
One of the reserves to Corey Bradford, Mike Furrey, has been impressive so far this season, and now will take the vacant starting spot over for the time being. He deserves it very much since he has shown his talent off, and even made a few big catches already.
This move could've come for two reasons. The first being that Bradford just wasn't doing enough to keep a spot on the roster. Even though he hadn't done too well in the last couple of games, that'd be no reason to just flat out cut a big free agent signing from the previous offseason. The second and main reason in my mind of why Bradford was cut is the fact that Detroit needs more depth on the offensive line. Injuries have knocked out a few very good players on the o-line, and with this cut, a spot on the roster was opened up.
With the open spot, the Lions quickly went out and signed offensive lineman Blaine Saipaia. Saipaia played in 17 games with the St. Louis Rams in the past two seasons under Mike Martz. That means another former Ram is being brought over with Mike Martz as the offensive coordinator.
When I first heard that Corey Bradford was cut, I was not very happy. I thought to myself, how can you dump a player that you just signed in the offseason that can make a big impact? But, one thing I didn't think about until now is that some of those players that haven't had much playing time at WR now can show their stuff. Take Mike Williams for example. He just got his first playing time of the season against Green Bay, and even that wasn't much. Now, he's the backup to Mike Furrey and will no doubt get in on a lot more plays.
Also, the offensive line was in need of another player. Rex Tucker, Barry Strokes, and Ross Verba have all been banged up, and with their status for this weekend's game in question, having a player like Blaine Saipaia is nice because another backup that can play any position on the o-line is present.
Time will tell if this was a smart move or not, but until then, the focus can't be on this move. The players and even fans should be looking toward the game at St. Louis on Sunday and hope that Mike Martz can have a good homecoming to the Edward Jones Dome by helping the Lions get their first win.