You can always tell when the NFL offseason fully starts to get going when rumors start to swirl about various topics. For the Lions, that became true today as Pro Football Talk is reporting that former Broncos middle linebacker Al Wilson may be in Detroit right now to talk with the Lions.
If true, then the need for a middle linebacker may be taken care of if Al Wilson is healthy. There were rumors a year ago that the Lions would try to bring in Wilson after he was released by the Broncos, but nothing ever developed because he was injured. Wilson took the 2007 season off to get healthy, and it appears he has done just that as doctors cleared him to play in the NFL again last month.
As I said already, if Wilson is healthy and can stay healthy, then signing him would be a great move. He would take care of the need at middle linebacker and would bring some much-needed veteran leadership to the Lions defense. On top of that, he seems like a hard-worker, which is something that Rod Marinelli values quite a bit.
Stay tuned for more on this rumor as it develops.
Update [2008-2-12 12:9:3 by Sean Yuille]: The Denver Post is reporting that Wilson will visit the Lions today.