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According to NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo, the Detroit Lions are trading offensive guard Laken Tomlinson to the San Francisco 49ers. According to Ian Rapoport, the Lions are receiving a 2019 fifth-round pick in return.
Tomlinson is just two years removed from being the Lions’ first-round draft pick, after trading down in the 2015 NFL Draft.
However, since being drafted, Tomlinson has shown signs of struggle at every turn. Eventually, he was benched in favor of third-round rookie Graham Glasgow last season, and it’s been a downward spiral ever since.
Glasgow and Joe Dahl have been consistently been getting snaps ahead of Tomlinson, which led a lot of people to believe Tomlinson was on the trading block. But considering the play of Glasgow and Dahl (see: very bad), many thought Tomlinson would be safe this year.
Instead, it appears he’ll be headed to San Francisco to play for a 49ers team that has had inconsistent play along the interior line. Obviously the 49ers know what they’ll be getting, because as Dave Birkett pointed out, the man who drafted Tomlinson—Martin Mayhew—is now part of the 49ers front office.
UPDATE: Tomlinson was gracious in his farewell to Detroit:
I want to extend my thanks to Mrs. Ford, the Lions and Detroit fans. I'm excited to continue my career with the @49ers ! #Niners
— Laken Tomlinson (@laken77) August 31, 2017