Should the Lions Consider Signing LB Jake Ryan?
On Thursday, the Baltimore Ravens released veteran linebacker Jake Ryan.
Ryan, 28, agreed to terms on April 18, and officially signed a non-guaranteed one-year deal with the Ravens a little over a month ago on May 4.
After Baltimore drafted two linebackers within the first three rounds of the 2020 NFL Draft, Ryan became expendable.
As a 2015 fourth-round pick for the Green Bay Packers out of the University Michigan, Ryan is a familiar name among local football fans.
In his first three NFL seasons, he totaled 213 tackles, 15 tackles for loss and one sack in 45 career games (27 starts). Not bad production from a mid-round player.
Unfortunately, the last two seasons have not gone as planned for Ryan.
In 2018 -- his last year with the Packers -- he tore his ACL in training camp, and missed the entire season.
As a free agent last season, he signed a two-year deal with the Jacksonville Jaguars, but had knee issues arise once again -- which limited him to only two games and nothing but special teams snaps.
As a result, the Jaguars did not pick up his second-year option, which made him a free agent for the second consecutive offseason.
Perhaps even more concerning was that the Ravens officially released Ryan with the non-football injury designation, meaning he still isn’t fully healthy.
Outside of the massive injury concerns, how would Ryan potentially fit in the Lions' scheme?
In short, he isn’t versatile enough for what Detroit head coach Matt Patricia wants in a linebacker.
In his career, Ryan only has a total of 28 snaps playing on the defensive line.
Essentially, he is an off-ball linebacker only.
The Lions want linebackers that can line up on the edge and also in a traditional linebacker spot.
Ryan does fit the run-stuffing "thumper" mold, but he lacks the length and versatility to make an impact on the edge.
Being 240 pounds in the NFL is not small by any means either. Yet, it’s on the lighter end of the spectrum for the Lions' scheme.
On top of all of that, the linebackers room already has quite a bit of depth after all the offseason acquisitions.
It never hurts to have plenty of quality reserves, though -- especially ones acquired at the right price.
As for how Ryan and the Lions would fit together, however, it just doesn’t make much sense.
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