Lions free agency rumors: Detroit expected to sign wide receiver, safety

Free agency opens on Tuesday, but it's important to remember that not all needs have to be immediately addressed. Teams can wait until later in the offseason to fill holes on their roster with the draft, and they can always take a look at some of the lower-profile free agents who remain unsigned as the offseason progresses.

For the Detroit Lions, it's entirely possible that needs at positions like center, linebacker and cornerback won't be taken care of until the draft. They apparently do not have any interest in waiting around to address their needs at wide receiver and safety, though. Check out what Dave Birkett said on Monday:

On PFT LIve, @davebirkett says the Lions definitely will sign a receiver and a safety in free agency. Unclear which ones at this point.

— ProFootballTalk (@ProFootballTalk) March 10, 2014

Signing a wide receiver doesn't mean that the Lions won't still draft one, of course. Wide receiver needs more than one new addition this offseason, and they will have plenty of options at that position in the draft. Free agency is merely the first step in overhauling the wide receiver position.

At safety, the Lions are really only in the market for one new starter to take care of that need. There's good depth behind Glover Quin, but the Lions do need to fill the vacancy created by Louis Delmas' release. Instead of waiting until the draft, it appears that the Lions want to find their new starter now, so it's entirely possible that safety could be removed from their list of needs in the next few days.