Lions free agent Eli Harold appears to say goodbye to Detroit

As we wait to see if the Detroit Lions plan on re-signing any of their remaining free agents, it appears one of them is clearly heading elsewhere in 2019. Linebacker Eli Harold went to Twitter on Tuesday to thank the Detroit Lions fans and the city:

While Harold doesn’t outright say his time with the Lions is over, that certainly seems to be the impression. At the same time, it doesn’t appear a signing with another team is imminent, as Harold replied to the question of where he’ll be playing next with a shrugging shoulders emoji.

As it became clear at the beginning of the season that Detroit needed edge help, Lions general manager Bob Quinn swung a trade with the 49ers for Harold, sending San Francisco for a conditional seventh-round pick in 2020.

Early on, it seemed like a great trade for the Lions. In the first three weeks, Harold tallied three sacks as a normal part of the defensive rotation. However, Harold quickly saw his role with the defense diminish, and he only played a total of nine defensive snaps from Week 5 to 11. Though he started playing more again towards the end of the season, he wasn’t too productive the rest of the way.

At this point, it’s unclear if Harold met the conditions of the trade, but even if it does end up costing Detroit a seventh-round pick last year, it was the right move for Detroit to make at the time. We hope for the best for Harold in free agency.