Should Lions Bring Back QB Jeff Driskel?
Back in mid-September, the Detroit Lions signed free agent quarterback Jeff Driskel.
Through the span of his four-year career in the NFL, he has played for three organizations.
After starting the last five games of the 2018 season with the Cincinnati Bengals, Driskel was placed on the injured reserve during the 2019 preseason.
He was then subsequently waived with an injury settlement. As the backup quarterback carousel went around and around in Detroit, Driskel was picked up and created some stability behind starting quarterback Matthew Stafford.
Little did the Lions know they would have to call on Driskel after Stafford missed his first start in eight years.
Unfortunately for Driskel, he only started three games with Detroit before suffering a hamstring injury.
In that span, he completed 59% of his passes for 685 yards, four touchdowns and four interceptions.
Despite having two very respectful performances, and maybe one to forget, the Lions were winless in his starts.
Much like his season started, Driskel was placed back on the injured reserve.
Heading into 2020, Driskel is once again a free agent.
Did Driskel show enough that the Lions should try to re-sign him?
The biggest question for general manager Bob Quinn may be how much of the cap space he is willing to allocate to a player who may not even see the field if all goes as planned.
In a must-win scenario, there are plenty of holes on the roster that need to be filled.
Yet there will be a limited amount of money available to spend after those holes are filled.
Obviously, the price will always be one of the biggest factors. Who can provide the biggest bang for a team's buck?
There are only so many great quarterbacks in the NFL, and even fewer good backups. A good backup typically doesn't remain a backup for long.
Average backups are a dime a dozen. More often than not, a team that wins without their starting quarterback must collectively come together and scheme around the personnel's new points of strength.
The Lions could have had one of the best backup quarterbacks in the league last year, and the results would have likely been indifferent.
Yes, maybe the Lions win a couple more games, but that still isn't where the Lions want to be.
The bottom line, Driskel is a capable quarterback.
Will he put the team on his back to victory?
It's unlikely.
What moderately paid backup quarterback could with a bottom-tier roster?
In my view, there are other quarterbacks who will be on the market that may be superior to Driskel. They still wouldn't be considered successful in the same situation that Driskel was in last year.
Save the high priced backup money and use it somewhere more useful.
If Driskel wants to come back with a very inexpensive contract, I say give him another shot.
Let's face it. As is the case for almost his entire career -- if Stafford goes down once again in 2020, the season goes down with him.
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