Lions don't completely rule out bringing back Stephen Peterman, Kyle Vanden Bosch

When the Detroit Lions released offensive guard Stephen Peterman and defensive end Kyle Vanden Bosch last week, the motivating factor was clearing cap room. Their performance in 2012 also played a role in the Lions releasing them, but Peterman and Vanden Bosch are considered cap casualties given the timing of their release.

If Peterman and Vanden Bosch are willing to return to Detroit on new, smaller contracts, would the Lions be open to bringing them back? Lions general manager Martin Mayhew was asked about this last week, and he didn't completely close the door on the idea. From the Free Press:

"I never say never, but we’re going to see how it all plays out, I think. Those guys are good football players and we tried to help them. Peterman, specifically asked to be, if we were going to make a move like that, as soon as we could. So we wanted to try to give them an opportunity to catch on somewhere else."

Personally, I would be pretty surprised if the Lions end up bringing back either player. Last year, they released tight end Will Heller only to bring him back 10 days later on a smaller contract, but that was a different situation. It's not as if they were releasing Heller in order to upgrade their third tight end. Peterman and Vanden Bosch, on the other hand, were released in part because the Lions need better production at right guard and defensive end. Unless the Lions fail to find replacements and get desperate, I can't see either player returning.

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