The Detroit Lions’ offensive line could be in complete flux in 2017. Both Riley Reiff and Larry Warford are a day away from hitting free agency and there’s no word on whether the Lions are close to re-signing them before Thursday’s 4 p.m. deadline. It does appear, however, the Lions are searching for backup plans. According to Dave Birkett, the Lions have reached out to Panthers offensive tackle Mike Remmers:
Mentioned Mike Remmers as a possibility for Lions,source tells me they reached out. His agent @TesslerSports confirms pic.twitter.com/AsnTrUzbSH
— Dave Birkett (@davebirkett) March 8, 2017
This is coming directly from Remmers’ agent, so it’s a little more solid than other free agent rumors. That being said, his agent obviously has motivation to stretch the truth publicly to get his player the best deal he can.
That being said, Remmers could make sense in Detroit. He has spent the last three years with the Carolina Panthers as a starting tackle. He won out the starting right tackle job in 2014 and held that position until early last season, when the Panthers were forced to slide Remmers to left tackle due to injury.
Remmers ranked 51st out of 78 qualifying tackles in 2016 according to Pro Football Focus, which is understandable, considering he was playing a position he wasn’t accustomed to. Here’s what Cat Scratch Reader had to say about Remmers earlier this week regarding the possibility of him returning to Carolina:
While many Panthers fans would love to see him gone, Remmers does provide value as a “swing” tackle, in the sense that he can play both tackle positions when needed. He’s not anything special at either spot, but he’s certainly a passable right tackle and a better option than most teams have as a backup left tackle. He also can play center.
Current estimates have Remmers’ value at around $4-6 million per year, which would likely make him a much cheaper option than Reiff, but his talent level also appears to be significantly worse.