Wednesday open thread: Grade the Detroit Lions’ legal tampering period

After a quiet Monday, it was a whirlwind of a Tuesday for the NFL and specifically the Detroit Lions. The free agency period will begin at 4 p.m. ET on Wednesday, but so much has already happened. Here’s a quick recap for the Lions.

Lions free agents re-signed:

• DE Ezekiel Ansah (franchise tag still unsigned)
• DE Kerry Hyder
• CB Nevin Lawson
• S Tavon Wilson
• LS Don Muhlbach

Lions free agents lost:

• Haloit Ngata (likely)

Free agent deals agreed to:

• LB Devon Kennard (3-year, $18.75 million)
• LB Christian Jones (2-year, $7.75 million)

Free agents missed out on:

• CB Richard Sherman (3-year, $39 million with 49ers)
• CB Malcolm Butler (5-year, $61 million to Titans)
• TE Trey Burton (4-year, $32 million to Bears)
• RB Jonathan Stewart (Giants)

So taking all of that into mind so far, today’s Question of the Day is:

What grade do you give the Lions for their moves during the legal tampering period?

My answer: I’d give it a C.

I’m very optimistic on both linebackers that have agreed to terms with the Lions. Kennard has the opportunity to be an excellent, versatile weapon for a Matt Patricia-led defense. Christian Jones strikes me as depth and special teams value that is better than Paul Worrilow. Though Kennard’s deal is a little pricey, if he can be a full-time starter, that could end up being a bit of a bargain. It’s admittedly a small risk, but getting the most out of linebackers has literally been Patricia’s job for a decade, and he’s good at it.

However, the cornerback situation was a little disheartening. I personally didn’t want the Lions to pay big money for Richard Sherman nor Malcolm Butler, but if the reports are true, the Lions were very serious about acquiring both corners. I think they made the right choice by not overpaying for either, but it’s just a shame they couldn’t get one or the other on a more team-friendly deal.

And the Lions quickly scrambled back to Nevin Lawson, who I am not exactly excited to see return in 2018, especially on a two-year, $9.2 million deal (with $1 million incentives).

So, overall, I don’t really have a strong feeling one way or the other with how Bob Quinn has done through two days of legal negotiations. There aren’t a lot of agreed-upon deals that I wish the Lions had pulled the trigger on, so I admire his patience. That being said, there hasn’t been much (yet) that has inspired a ton of confidence.

Your turn.