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Monday proved that the Detroit Lions can rope some of the biggest free agents that the NFL has to offer. However, one study from Sports Illustrated suggests they have to work a little harder than some of their NFL counterparts.
Robert Klemko asked 15 NFL player agents the following question:
“If you polled your clients about the most and least desirable teams to play for, which teams do you think would end up in the Top 5 and which would be in the Bottom 5?”
According to the agent survey, the Detroit Lions are apparently the fourth-worst destination for NFL players. 23 different teams received at least one top-five vote, the Lions were not among them. Instead, seven of the 15 agents listed Detroit as a bottom-five destination.
But that’s not all, Klemko got this quote from an anonymous source that is particularly damning.
“Especially with Matt ‘I think I’m Belichick but I haven’t done s---’ Patricia,” one agent said
Yikes.
Of course, none of this particularly matters when looking at the current results. The Lions have scored some big free agents already, and while they may have had to pay a little extra, apparently the destination is still a little more enticing to some players:
The #Jets wanted Trey Flowers. One issue: Feeling wasn’t mutual. Heard from two league sources he shortened his list to two teams: Dolphins & Lions.
— Connor Hughes (@Connor_J_Hughes) March 11, 2019
The entire article is worth a read, if for no other reason than to hear the kind of things that some players prioritize in free agency.