Prior to the 2016 season, the Detroit Lions hired Bob Quinn to be their next general manager. The hope was that Quinn would use what he learned during his extensive time with the New England Patriots and that he would eventually build a Super Bowl-caliber roster in Detroit.
Unfortunately, Quinn has yet to get the job done, and part of the reason why is because he has not exactly kicked it through the uprights when it comes to getting great value out of his free-agent signings.
That being said, it has not been all bad for Quinn as he has signed a handful or so of free agents who have been solid contributors during their time in the Motor City.
Here are the players I believe are the top 5 free agents Quinn has signed. (This list was not hard to come up with because there have not been many good signings! In fact, I nearly made this a top 3 list instead of top 5)
5 – Danny Amendola
Danny Amendola has only one season under his belt with the Lions but he is cheap and he has been a tremendous outlet for Lions’ quarterbacks. In 2019, he caught 62 passes for 678 yards. At nearly 35 years of age, Amendola’s career is winding down but he still has what it takes to be a great weapon for Matthew Stafford.
4 – T.J. Lang
Lang ended up having concussion issues that forced him to retire sooner than he (and we) would have liked but during his time in Detroit, he was a solid offensive lineman. Not to mention, Lang continues to be valuable in another way as his videos are freaking hilarious!
3 – Devon Kennard
Kennard only spent two seasons with the Lions but he did contribute 7 sacks in each of those seasons from the LB position. Unfortunately, he is not exactly the type of player who can contribute in coverage in Matt Patricia‘s scheme so he became expendable.
2 – Trey Flowers
Trey Flowers signed a huge deal with the Lions prior to the 2019 season and though we would like to see more sacks out of a guy who is getting $90 million over five years, he has been a solid player and he could take another step forward in 2020.
1 – Marvin Jones Jr.
Putting Marvin Jones Jr. at No. 1 on this list was an absolute no-brainer. Though he will never be considered a No. 1 receiver in the NFL (at least not on most teams), Jones is the perfect No. 2. In four seasons with the Lions, he has 213 catches for 3,318 yards and 27 touchdowns. I do believe this will be Jones’ final season in a Lions uniform, but hopefully, he makes it a great one!
