Cornerback Lito Sheppard, who became a free agent after the Jets released him last week, is reportedly drawing interest from a pair of NFC North teams -- the Lions and, of course, the Bears. Here is what Pro Football Talk had to say about Sheppard earlier this afternoon:
We're told that two teams are in the mix for his services. Per a league source, the Detroit Lions and the Chicago Bears have expressed interest.
To date, no visits have been scheduled.
It will be interesting to see if anything develops on the Lito Sheppard front with the Lions. Detroit needs to rebuild the cornerback position this offseason, and one way they are going to do that is by trading for Chris Houston, assuming there are no snags with that deal. I would imagine that the Lions will also draft at least one cornerback in April because that position is pretty deep and if somebody like Kyle Wilson drops to the second round, I'd imagine Detroit would jump at the opportunity to select him.
Beyond that, I'm not sure what the Lions' plans are, specifically with free agents. In the report about the Houston trade we learned that the Lions pursued Dunta Robinson, so it's obvious they are exploring all options. Perhaps Sheppard is just merely one of those options and nothing will come of this report, but personally I would be for adding a player like Sheppard for the right price. Say what you want about the type of player he is now versus a couple years ago, but I think Sheppard is an upgrade over the corners currently on the roster. Plus, if it comes down to the Lions or Bears for Sheppard, I'd like to see him end up in Detroit so we don't have to play him twice a year and possibly regret missing out on him.