Many were surprised when the Detroit Lions released safety Louis Delmas before this weekend as they made some cap clearing moves, as he’s definitely a player who won’t have much trouble finding a good contract on a new team, with interest possibly coming from the Chicago Bears, Pittsburgh Steelers, Dallas Cowboys, Philadelphia Eagles, Minnesota Vikings, Atlanta Falcons, Houston Texans & St. Louis Rams.
Why did the Lions release Delmas? He played in all 16 games this season, he’s only 26 and isn’t going to be too much of a strain on the salary cap. However, his previous knee problems and hardly being able to practice all week as he was keeping himself from further aggravating his knee situations made the Lions realize that seeing him play many games in the future wasn’t a likely prospect, and decided to cut their ties with him.
This makes about any team with need for some help in the secondary a likely the destination. The Atlanta Falcons could do quite a lot with a good tackler and someone who is always looking for that interception like Delmas, as it’s more than likely that Atlanta will release the disappointing and very expensive Thomas DeCoud very soon.
The Minnesota Vikings could find their use in Delmas, who had his best season last year with 3 interceptions and nine deflected passes, even though they have other concerns that might even be bigger than safety. However, if they decide that Jamarca Sanford and Andrew Sendejo aren’t really going to be part of their upgrading plans, Delmas should definitely be someone they consider.
How about the rest? There are plenty of teams with pass-defense problems who could do a lot with Delmas, considering they’re not seeing him as an injury risk: The NFC East with the Dallas Cowboys and the Philadelphia Eagles, two of the worst defenses in the league, will have a look for sure. Two usually great defensive teams like the Chicago Bears and the Pittsburgh Steelers are on the lookout.
The same goes for the Houston Texans after their disastrous season, which included a very inconsistent and untrustworthy secondary, and the St. Louis Rams, who could use a bit of upgrading in almost every position on the field.