Should the Detroit Lions trade for a quarterback?

Is there anything more exciting than a trade? It’s why sports fans love trade deadlines. It’s this feeling of gratification that your team just did something new and exciting, even if the trade turns out to be not that exciting at all. The only thing more exciting than a trade is a QUARTERBACK trade.

There is a ton of buzz around quarterbacks getting traded right now. Will Aaron Rodgers get moved to the Broncos? Is Jimmy Garoppolo going to get traded to the Commanders? Are the Seahawks going to move Russell Wilson? Should teams try to trade for Jordan Love if Rodgers stays in Green Bay? Is Carson Wentz about to get traded? When will Deshaun Watson get traded? It goes on and on.

All this got me thinking. Should the Detroit Lions get in on all this madness? After all, the Lions could use a quarterback that can take them places that Jared Goff won't be able to take them if he regresses back to the Goff he was before the bye week. What would it probably look like to get in on this? Well let’s talk about it

In my opinion, Russell Wilson would likely be the most realistic move of them all. Wilson could be a game-changer for the Lions right away. I have no doubt that he’s going to get moved and be a difference-maker wherever he winds up. What would it take for the Lions to swing Wilson away from the Seahawks? Turns out it would probably be a lot.

Last offseason the Bears reportedly made a big offer to the Seahawks. That offer apparently included multiple first-round picks. The Seahawks turned down the deal.

So right away you know the going rate is going to be multiple first-round picks and maybe more. Right now the Lions have just that. They have four first-round picks in the next two drafts. Perhaps that would be the Lions' big offer. Their next four first-round picks for Russell Wilson. That’s a pretty hefty price to pay for an aging quarterback while the team is still mid-rebuild.

Of course, the next big obstacle would be that the Lions would have to hope that Russell Wilson would approve of the deal because he would have to waive his no-trade clause. The Lions would have to talk Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll and general manager John Schneider into it and then talk Russell Wilson into it as well. That’s a lot of hassle for a soon-to-be 34-year-old quarterback who would also come with cap with hits of $24 and $27 million in the next two years.

The Lions would obviously be wise to stay out of the Jimmy Garoppolo and Carson Wentz conversations. Wentz will probably just get dropped by the Colts if they fail to trade him. As for Garoppolo, the Commanders look like a logical landing spot, and Washington’s 11th overall pick could be the price. The Lions can sit back and watch them make that mistake.

The Packers are never going to trade Aaron Rodgers to the Lions, and I don’t know if the constant headaches that Rodgers’ public persona brings are really worth giving up a ton for a guy who is probably going to retire sooner than later anyway. As for Jordan Love, I’m not sure why any team would trade for a guy they’ve never really seen play, especially when it’s a guy who has not really shown anything in the few instances that you have seen him play.

With all Deshaun Watson’s legal troubles, it would foolish for any team to trade for him. The guy may never play again. Please stay far away from this, Lions.

So with all that out, what are the other options? Are there any others? There’s Tua Tagovailoa, Baker Mayfield, or Kirk Cousins? Do any of these situations really put the Lions in any better situation than they’re clearly in? I know there are a lot of Tua fans out there, but if his first two years in the league don’t give you pause when it comes to giving up assets, then I don’t know what situation would give you pause.

Are you getting the picture here? The Lions should stay out of the conversation when it comes to trading for a quarterback. The Lions are in a good spot right now. They have a good deal of cap space and a lot of draft assets. They should be thinking about rebuilding the entire team instead of taking a short-term fix. Again, we still don’t really know for sure that Jared Goff won’t work out.