Cornerback Jonathan Wade was set to visit the Lions today, and that visit must have went pretty well, because the team has reportedly signed the former Rams defensive back to a one-year deal.
Wade is a speedy cornerback who excelled in both track and football in high school and college. At Tennessee he was originally a wide receiver but switched to cornerback early on his career, which has proved to be a good decision. Also at Tennessee he ran track and was an All-American in 2005 for the indoor and outdoor seasons.
In 2007, Wade was drafted by the Rams in the third round. In the three seasons he played for the Rams, Wade appeared in all but one game and made a total of 6 starts. Wade should be able to compete for a starting job with the Lions, and even if he is merely a backup, his versatility should prove useful if any starters are unable to play. Wade can be a nickelback or a regular cornerback, which will be good for depth purposes one way or another.
While the Lions have improved their depth at cornerback by signing Wade, the team is still hoping to add more depth by trading for Chris Houston. Although Adam Schefter's report on the trade made it sound like the Lions and Falcons simply had to dot the i's and cross the t's, the Free Press' Nicholas Cotsonika reports that a deal may not be quite that close to becoming official just yet.
The Lions and Atlanta Falcons are still talking today about a trade that would send cornerback Chris Houston to Detroit, an NFL source said.
I'm not sure what the delay is, but hopefully it is nothing that will be too big of an obstacle for the trade to become official at some point. The Lions still have a ways to go to improve the secondary, but signing Wade and trading for Houston would be a great start, so let's hope this trade is completed without any issues.