Lions open to drafting quarterback to back up Matthew Stafford

With Shaun Hill unsigned, the Detroit Lions are still searching for Matthew Stafford's backup. It's still possible that Hill could re-sign with the Lions, and if not, they could also target a veteran like Luke McCown to fill that need.

It's also possible that the Lions could simply wait and draft a quarterback to serve as Stafford's backup. Earlier in the offseason, Lions general manager Martin Mayhew indicated that he wanted a veteran in the backup role, but he is apparently open to the idea of bringing in someone without experience.

Martin Mayhew says Lions "definitely" would consider drafting QB to back up Matthew Stafford

— Kyle Meinke (@kmeinke) March 24, 2014

Just because the Lions would consider drafting a quarterback doesn't mean they will actually select one, of course. My feeling is that the Lions still want a veteran, and I'm assuming they would prefer to simply re-sign Hill. He could end up landing in St. Louis, but if not, there's a good chance that he will return to the Lions. In the meantime, leaving the door open to the possibility of drafting a quarterback could give the Lions some added leverage in negotiations if Hill does eventually decide to stay in Detroit.

In the grander scheme of things, it's pretty clear that Kellen Moore isn't in the Lions' plans for the backup quarterback role. Mayhew basically said as much earlier in the offseason because of Moore's lack of experience. However, a draft pick would have even less NFL experience than Moore, so this seems more like a talent issue than an experience issue. Considering Jim Caldwell's Indianapolis Colts teams only kept two quarterbacks on their roster until the year Peyton Manning got hurt, I wouldn't even expect Moore to make the Lions' 53-man roster at this point.