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After Melvin Ingram tore his ACL earlier this week, the San Diego Chargers immediately scheduled a visit with free agent Dwight Freeney. They see Freeney as Ingram's replacement, and questions about his fit in the scheme aside, the visit seemed to go quite well. It did not result in Freeney signing with the Chargers, though, at least not yet.
U-T San Diego's Michael Gehlken reports that Freeney left his visit on Thursday without signing. Freeney's visit is reported "as having gone well," and the Chargers remain interested in signing Freeney as an outside linebacker. But there's no deal for now, meaning Freeney is still a free agent.
If the Detroit Lions have any interest in signing Freeney, one would think that they will schedule a visit with him in the near future. There have been reports suggesting that there is mutual interest between Freeney and the Lions, but there hasn't been anything concrete. It's unclear if the Lions would even be able to afford Freeney based on how much cap space they currently have, and it's unclear if they really want to go out and sign a veteran defensive end after drafting two players at that position in April.
For what it's worth, Freeney's father did an interview on Thursday morning, and he mentioned the Lions as a possible landing spot for his son.
"Hugh in CT" says his son (Dwight Freeney) is still in San Diego. Question is scheme. Hugh thought it would be Det, NE, or Ten.
— Adam Schein (@AdamSchein) May 16, 2013
If Freeney wants to be a defensive end in a 4-3 scheme, chances are he won't end up joining the Chargers. In that regard, the Lions would be a much better fit, but it's important to remember that scheme is far from the only factor in play here.