Reggie Bush rumors: Is it Lions vs. Cardinals for RB?

As we near the official start of NFL free agency, two teams are emerging as the favorites to sign free-agent running back Reggie Bush: the Detroit Lions and Arizona Cardinals. The Lions have been connected to Bush for months now, but the Cardinals have seemingly only recently jumped to the top of the list of possible suitors for Bush.

How is the #Cardinals interest in Reggie Bush, as termed to me? "Significant." Lions is too, though. #GameOn #Hashtags

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 11, 2013

On Monday, the biggest development with the Cardinals was that they released running back Beanie Wells. This opens the door for Bush to be the Cardinals' featured back in Bruce Arians' offense.

The Lions can't offer Bush the starting job in their offense given that they have Mikel Leshoure, but their big selling point is how they would use him. He would step in and fill the role Jahvid Best had in the offense as a home-run threat out of the backfield. He would see plenty of touches on the ground and through the air, and he could also potentially be used on special teams.

At this point, it's not clear what exactly Bush is looking for in a new team. Is it money, playing time, the potential to be on a winning team or perhaps a combination of these different things? It remains to be seen, but if the Lions take care of the money aspect, I think they will be able to sell him on the other factors.

More:

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• Track the latest Reggie Bush to Lions rumors

• Lions a team to watch for Reggie Bush, according to Adam Schefter