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Now that the portion of free agency that affects compensatory picks has passed, many expect some of the bigger names in free agency to sign with new teams in the very near future.
One of those players is former Detroit Lions defensive end Ezekiel Ansah, who has met with several teams this offseason. According to Ian Rapoport, the front-runner to land the pass rusher is now the Seattle Seahawks:
Sources: The #Seahawks have emerged as the front-runner to sign star FA DE Ziggy Ansah. They visited with him in late April and need a big-time pass-rusher after dealing Frank Clark. The contract has not been finalized yet. He also visited with the #Bills, who remain interested.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) May 8, 2019
Ansah has shown a knack for pass rushing in this league—tallying 44 sacks in his first five yards in the league. That’s something the Seahawks will certainly be hoping to harness should the sign him, even though they drafted L.J. Collier in the first round in the draft.
However, injury concerns have caused plenty of teams to take caution with Ansah. He has missed 14 games in the past three seasons combined. His latest major injury, a torn labrum suffered late in the 2018 season, required surgery to repair it. His progress at this point is unclear.
We’ll see if the Seahawks seal the deal soon, but unfortunately for Detroit, it means no compensation is coming their way—although any compensation was unlikely anyways considering how active Detroit was in free agency.
- Lions sixth-round rookie running back Ty Johnson is ready and excited to be a Detroit Lion:
Hey Detroit, I hope you're excited. I know I am! @lions | @TerpsFootball pic.twitter.com/Z3eTJp2Zc8
— Ty Johnson (@T_Johns6) May 8, 2019
- File this under: “WHO CARES?” or “I wish him the best,” but this is an interesting look at how Eric Ebron has assumed an emotional leadership role on the Colts already.
- Sam Martin, who spent part of his offseason in Abu Dhabi for the 2019 Special Olympics World Games, supported the local games in Detroit this week:
Some Lions surprised athletes at the Special Olympics games of Macomb today. 700 athletes are competing in a bunch of activities like races, volleyball, tennis, basketball. this was a nice moment. @SamMartin_6 @FOX2Sports pic.twitter.com/ns5gfKwwoi
— Kellie Rowe (@kellierowe) May 8, 2019
- Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press has a great story about Steve Longa’s process of becoming an American citizen.
- While we’re on the topic of special teams, the Lions have the perfect phone background for all you kicker/punter/long snapper fans:
We’ve got a really special #wallpaperWednesday for you today pic.twitter.com/3SK0oUkBOB
— Detroit Lions (@Lions) May 8, 2019
- Chris Burke of The Athletic took Bob Quinn’s past three draft classes and sorted them into hits, misses and under further review.