Lions not interested in trading Mikel Leshoure

After seeing his role on offense completely vanish last season, it looked like running back Mikel Leshoure didn't have much of a future with the Detroit Lions. Just a couple of weeks into last season, there were rumors about him being open to a trade, and at least one team reportedly expressed some level of interest in him. A deal never happened, however, and Leshoure finished the season with a whopping 2 carries for 9 yards in three games.

Going into the offseason, it still looked like Leshoure didn't have much of a future with the Lions, but everything changed when Jim Caldwell was hired as the new head coach. He brought in Joe Lombardi as his offensive coordinator, and there's an expectation for Lombardi to really spread the ball around based on what the New Orleans Saints did while he was on their coaching staff.

Last month, Lions general manager Martin Mayhew actually indicated that Leshoure could have a role in the team's new offense. And on Monday, Mayhew took things a step further by making it clear that the Lions don't have any interest in trading Leshoure.

Mayhew also said he's not interested in trading RB Mikel Leshoure. Mayhew wants to see how he performs this season.

— Tim Twentyman (@ttwentyman) March 24, 2014

It's not like Leshoure would draw much value in return even if the Lions did make a move to trade him, but he seems to be in their plans for 2014. Reggie Bush and Joique Bell should remain the top two running backs, but depth at that position seems important for what Lombardi wants to do.

Leshoure looks poised to take over the No. 3 spot on the depth chart at running back, and the Lions also have Theo Riddick, Montell Owens and Steven Miller, not to mention Jed Collins at fullback. There's obviously not room for everybody, but Leshoure seems to be in much better standing with this coaching staff than he was with the old one.