Deal in place with curry, hinges on stafford.

[nesper]

http://www.mlive.com/lions/index.ssf/2009/04/source_lions_have_aaron_curry.html

According to a league source, the Detroit Lions have completed contract terms with Wake Forest linebacker Aaron Curry and the team is now waiting to see if it can reach an agreement with their No. 1 target, Georgia quarterback Matthew Stafford. The source said the Lions will not allow a decision to go beyond Friday and if a deal isn't done with Stafford by then, the team will sign Curry and take him with the first overall draft pick.

The source said he believes that Stafford's agent, Tom Condon, will eventually agree to a deal with the Lions but probably won't do it until it gets closer to the Friday deadline. The price of the contract can only go up in the final hours so Condon will likely push the issue as far as he feels he has something to gain.

The Lions, according to the source, aren't budging and are just waiting to see if Stafford accepts their deal before they move to Curry. The Lions have been adamant that they want to get their draft pick signed before the draft starts at 4 p.m. on Saturday.

They got a player many people want locked in to an agreement and using it for leverage with stafford. sounds smart to me.

 

[JeremyHight]

I don't see why they didn't set up a deal with Smith, but oh well, its not like games are won in the trenches... fucking Lions.

 

[Tailback U]

They are most likely talking to Smith as well.

Curry has gone on record saying that he would take less money than Jake Long did last season as the number 1 pick if the Lions take him.

Lions are smart for dealing with Curry. They should take Curry if they can't get a deal with Stafford done by draft day.

And several teams have revitalized themselves by drafting or acquiring a big time MLB. How quickly people forget the value that guys like Urlacher, Ray Lewis, LT, Derrick Thomas, Dick Butkus, Jack Lambert, etc. had on their respected teams.

You draft a stud MLB with HOF potential and he can be the heart and soul of your defense for 10 years.

 

[Prodigal Son]

They are most likely talking to Smith as well.

Curry has gone on record saying that he would take less money than Jake Long did last season as the number 1 pick if the Lions take him.

Lions are smart for dealing with Curry. They should take Curry if they can't get a deal with Stafford done by draft day.

And several teams have revitalized themselves by drafting or acquiring a big time MLB. How quickly people forget the value that guys like Urlacher, Ray Lewis, LT, Derrick Thomas, Dick Butkus, Jack Lambert, etc. had on their respected teams.

You draft a stud MLB with HOF potential and he can be the heart and soul of your defense for 10 years.

It has more to do with Curry being smart. He knows he would never see the money if he was drafted later. He'll still get an assload of money. More then he would have seen had he gone elsewhere.

 

[Tailback U]

It has more to do with Curry being smart. He knows he would never see the money if he was drafted later. He'll still get an assload of money. More then he would have seen had he gone elsewhere.

Well I think the Lions are moreso using Curry for leverage. I think Stafford is their number 1 choice and they are using Curry to get Stafford to asap.

 

[Leftwich]

I love draft drama. You don't try to revitalize a franchise by drafting a LB though...You just HAVE to go for a QB. Even though, I don't think they really need one that badly, but.

Curry will be the better choice in the long run IMO. He can be a leader of the defense better than Stafford will be the leader of a porous offense. We'll see what happens.

 

[Ralnakor]

I may be looking at it through my usual hopeful Lions glasses, but my reason for saying no to Stafford (at least of late) is Culpepper being in what he claims to be the best shape of his career and weighs less than he did early in his career. I wasn't huge on him last year, but so long as Culpepper is serviceable, why not give him the shot and just take Curry to finally sure up our linebacking corps?

 

[Prodigal Son]

and then end up replacing Culpepper in 1 to 2 years?

 

[JeremyHight]

I'd rather shore up the offensive line and defensive fronts now than put someone out there to get murdered at QB and pressure him to try and keep up with the scoring being allowed on the other side of the ball.

 

[Ralnakor]

and then end up replacing Culpepper in 1 to 2 years?

In the hope that there's a better option than Stafford, sure. I don't mind taking a later round QB, but Stafford's just not worth spending the #1 on to me.

 

[Prodigal Son]

The Lions have two first rounders. Draft a QB, and then draft a Tackle.

 

[DSpydr84]

http://www.mlive.com/lions/index.ssf/2009/04/source_lions_have_aaron_curry.html



They got a player many people want locked in to an agreement and using it for leverage with stafford. sounds smart to me.

This is such a genius move.

Either Stafford signs for the money they want (they gave him a Friday deadline), or Curry is the number one pick (he already has his contract set in stone - the money Detroit wants).

So not only are we paying what we want to pay, but we're getting our first pick signed before draft day. This Mayhew guy has been on the ball.

 

[DSpydr84]

I may be looking at it through my usual hopeful Lions glasses, but my reason for saying no to Stafford (at least of late) is Culpepper being in what he claims to be the best shape of his career and weighs less than he did early in his career. I wasn't huge on him last year, but so long as Culpepper is serviceable, why not give him the shot and just take Curry to finally sure up our linebacking corps?

We would never start Stafford in his first year. He's a junior coming out so it only makes sense he sits his first year. Remember, Matt Ryan and Joe Flacco were fifth year seniors when they came out of college.

Culpepper won't be around forever, let's get our QB right now, let him sit a year and learn the NFL game under Pepp, and give him the reigns next season. We have a QB that understands and has performed well in this system, and I personally think we have a roster that (although isn't stellar in some areas) can win games as of RIGHT NOW, no matter who we draft. Let's build for now and for later... we have two first round picks, we could easily get the best MLB available at 20 or even 33, or we could easily get a solid OT at 20 or 33, or whoever else you'd want at 1, we could absolutely get a servicable player of that same position at 20 or 33. The same cannot be said for quarterback.

 

[Len B]

Maybe it's just me, but I'd take Curry over Stafford anyway. I feel like this will be another David Carr situation. Rookie QB on a team with little talent outside of a stud WR, and new QB gets his ass kicked for a few years.

 

[ralaw]

Maybe it's just me, but I'd take Curry over Stafford anyway. I feel like this will be another David Carr situation. Rookie QB on a team with little talent outside of a stud WR, and new QB gets his ass kicked for a few years.

I agree. Stafford doesn't come across to me like a stud QB and his stock is more so the product of a weak draft class. IMO unless there an elite prospect there is too much risk with taking a QB high in the draft, because if they dont'y work out it'll set the franchise back a few years.

 

[DSpydr84]

Maybe it's just me, but I'd take Curry over Stafford anyway. I feel like this will be another David Carr situation. Rookie QB on a team with little talent outside of a stud WR, and new QB gets his ass kicked for a few years.

Trust me, he's not playing next season. Pepp has been doing fine, Stafford will sit the year out and learn the NFL while Detroit builds their program. It makes more sense to get your QB now and let him learn this season, as opposed to waiting until next season and throwing him to the wolves as you mentioned.

 

[Apocalypse]

I'm sure others have said something about it, but Stafford's agent is supposedly looking around for better offers because the Lions have their final offer on the table, so i think it's safe to say that if he doesn't sign by early afternoon tomorrow we'll be picking Curry.

Imo, Curry > Stafford

We can get a QB next year.
I feel comfortable playing Culpepper, he's in the best shape since coming out of college.

 

[Len B]

Trust me, he's not playing next season. Pepp has been doing fine, Stafford will sit the year out and learn the NFL while Detroit builds their program. It makes more sense to get your QB now and let him learn this season, as opposed to waiting until next season and throwing him to the wolves as you mentioned.

Is Stafford really the best option though, especially at the #1 pay slot? You could take a LB this year, and have a shot for a Sam Bradford type player next year. It's not like the Lions will be 10-6 with a bad selection next season. You still have a LOT of holes to fill, and one year on the bench won't do anything if you still don't have talent surrounding him.

Curry has already said he'll sign for cheap compared to other #1 overall picks.

Do what the Falcons did. Build up your team through free agency and the draft, then draft a QB who is ready to start after you have some pieces in place.

A lot of QB's got fucked when they had no talent to help them out.

I do think you need a QB to build your franchise around, but I don't think that you can actually build your franchise on a QB (if that makes sense). Peyton Manning might be the only QB as of late that jump started an organization, but even then he had guys like Marshall Faulk and Marvin Harrison.

 

[DSpydr84]

Is Stafford really the best option though, especially at the #1 pay slot? You could take a LB this year, and have a shot for a Sam Bradford type player next year. It's not like the Lions will be 10-6 with a bad selection next season. You still have a LOT of holes to fill, and one year on the bench won't do anything if you still don't have talent surrounding him.

Curry has already said he'll sign for cheap compared to other #1 overall picks.

Do what the Falcons did. Build up your team through free agency and the draft, then draft a QB who is ready to start after you have some pieces in place.

A lot of QB's got fucked when they had no talent to help them out.

I do think you need a QB to build your franchise around, but I don't think that you can actually build your franchise on a QB (if that makes sense). Peyton Manning might be the only QB as of late that jump started an organization, but even then he had guys like Marshall Faulk and Marvin Harrison.

But let's not forget; Matt Ryan was a fifth year senior coming out of college (as was Joe Flacco). Matt Stafford - and your example of Sam Bradford should he come out next season - are both juniors leaving college (since Bradford is currently a redshirt sophmore). I think the best idea with a QB like that is to let them sit a year and learn the NFL from the bench, so if we were to skip on Stafford this year and take Bradford next year, that essentially puts us back two years right off the bat. If we take the QB now with the new regime, who knows.. we pull something crazy this year like Miami or Atlanta did last season, and then in 2010 we have a QB who has a year under his belt in the NFL, and is ready to be a starting quarterback. That can't be said about the QB we'd draft next year (since all the highly touted QBs next year are either juniors or played in a spread).

I've also thought that great linebackers can be found in the later parts of the draft. You don't need to get the best linebacker available to get a stud. We could easily wait until 33 to get the best MLB prospect in this year's class (James Lauranitis).

But at this point, it's out of our hands. The deal is on the table for Stafford, and he has until Friday to decide or Curry is the first overall pick (we already have a deal in place with him). So let's see if Stafford is a man of his word and really wants to play for Detroit.

 

[Apocalypse]

Like i said earlier, i haven't read it anywhere but i've talked with friends and family in Detroit and they say that Stafford's agent is looking at other teams to see what deals they'd work out because apparantly he isn't satisfied with what the Lions final offer.

I hope he doesn't agree, so we can get Curry and go 0-Line at 20, then draft a QB next year.