'Fins give DB Mincah Fitzpatrick permission to seek trade

Is he worth A top five pick in the draft?

he was the 11th overall pick in last yearā€™s draft and played very well. Iā€™m of the opinion that the Lions will not be picking in the top 5 in next yearā€™s draft and if they added him to the mix it is even less likely that they would be anywhere near the top five of the draft in my humble opinion. He was considered by most to be the top slot cornerback in the NFL last year and that wasnā€™t even his primary position with the dolphins as heā€™s also excellent at safety.

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Dallas is looking aggressively at him.

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Dang. We gave Coleman all of that cash and with Melvin and Slay, itā€™d be tough to justify trading for him.
Heā€™d be a great addition and fits the flexible player mold that we covet. It would suck if he went to the Packers or Cowboys.

Minkah would come as a team friendly deal, but cb/s might not be nearly as big a need as LTā€¦ Spend the money and capital on Trent Williamsā€¦ just my opinion

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3rd and a 5th in a heartbeat. Iā€™m just not convinced that our 2nd wonā€™t be a top 40 pick and given the salary structure and talent available at that pick that is an incredibly valuable asset.

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Although I want to see Melvin succeed in the Lions system I believe that Fitzpatrick would be a definite upgrade. However having said that I read an article earlier today that indicated part of his displeasure with Miami is the fact that they want to use him like a Swiss army knife per se and he wants to play one position only that being cornerback not safety. So itā€™s possible that the versatility that heā€™s capable of is a moot point if heā€™s unwilling to use that versatility for the teamā€™s benefit.Miami Herald article 9/13/19

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True but I read an article where Flores had him learning 6 new positions this offseason including middle linebacker. Iā€™m sure heā€™s concerned about not having a true position once heā€™s due for his next contract especially if the Dolphins start the franchise tag game.

Iā€™d like his long term potential over Melvin but it would be hard to find room for him unless we included Melvin or Coleman in the trade.

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Rookie contract w signing bonus already paid. Young talented, versatile DB. Guy was 2nd DB off the board 1 draft ago. Own his rights for 3 years minimum. Cheap.

Morons who pissed him off run our same D, essentially. Costs us pick 40ish next year.

So if someone came to you last October and said, Hey, weā€™ll trade you this playmaker rookie from Alabama for a relatively unheard of senior LB fro Hawaii, which of you turn that down? No one.

Get that deal done Melvin hasnt shown anything in this league.

Dont be dull and overthink things.

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Melvin is was actually pretty good in 17. Minkah is much better of course but Melvin can play a little bit when heā€™s right.

The chances of landing a player of Minkahā€™s talent level even at 40 is very unlikely. This guy has proven he can be a force at the NFL level and heā€™s only going to get better.

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In the history of the Lions, would you say there was ever a time we had ā€œtoo manyā€ good DBs?

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No kidding.

Slay, Fitzpatrick, Coleman, Walker and Diggs as your nickel DBs. Then youā€™ve got depth with Melvin and possible future starter in Oruwariye. Hell, if MIA is playing Fitzpatrick as a slot corner, give them Coleman and that terrible contract. Haha, the Fins obviously wouldnā€™t want that. But I would.

Trade for him, gives us some leeway with negotiating with Slay in the future. Quinnā€™s job is to add talent and this does that, on the cheap too.

Why would you want to give up a perfectly good corner when you dont need to?

Because Iā€™m guessing a 2nd alone doesnā€™t get it done for Fitzpatrick. How about a 3rd and Coleman, for a swap of slot CBs (where Minkah is at his best) and cap savings for the Lions, dumping most of that Colemanā€™s oversized contract for money to pay Slay while Fitzpatrick is still cheap? It doesnā€™t seem something the Fins would do because they look like theyā€™re trying to emulate the Browns and taking on an overpaid vet is not part of the plan.

I hope Coleman improves and settles into a solid role with DET, but he hasnā€™t been looking like heā€™s worth that money at all yet. Still early for him, as long as heā€™s in a Lions uni, Imma gonna be pulling for him. And with that contract it doesnā€™t look like heā€™s going anywhere.

While I understand what you are saying, if Miami was looking for players they wouldnā€™t be trading away all of their players. They are tanking and looking to collect picks like the Browns did. I realize you donā€™t like Coleman ā€œfor his contract,ā€ but heā€™s a perfectly good player overall. Have you ever seen a Lions team with too many good defensive backs?

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You make good points, Wes. If Quinn decides to go that route Iā€™m fine with it. I do think if you could get a guy like Bryce Hall at 40 you are getting a very talented corner in his own right and youā€™d have him in the cheap for two extra years. Though there is of course a good bit of risk that someone A:) he (or someone of equal caliber) would even be available and B:) does he pan it

Though the more I think about it, the more I like the idea of trading our two for Minkah.

Iā€™m just looking at Colemanā€™s contract and the quick math says he comes in at $18m over the next two years. Minkah and Trent Williams combined something like $25m.

Sure it would cost a lot of draft capital, but Staffordā€™s window is getting shorter and the structure of his contract is such that heā€™s here at least a couple more years.

Weā€™d have give up some high picks to get the best LT and slot (and super versatile DB) in football for a few years, but Iā€™d be fine with losing Coleman and playing Melvin and developing Oruwariye.

I see two players that could be available that would really lift the talent level on this team and have no compunction saying goodbye to Coleman and some juicy picks to do it.

Good to see you, redwing!

Iā€™d be fine with offering a 2nd for Fitzpatrick. Weā€™ll probably be using our 1st on a tackle, unfortunately.