This transaction is a great example of how opportunistic GM Martin Mayhew is.  Last summer when the Lions claimed O’Connell, they had little to no interest in him for themselves.  Mayhew claimed him because there were several former members of the Patriots organization that we with new teams. 

Scott Pioli was in his first season as GM of the Chiefs and he was one of the people that pulled the trigger on drafting O’Connell.  They were looking for a backup QB familiar with the style of offense the Chiefs were installing.  Denver Head Coach Josh McDaniels was looking for a backup quarterback that knew his system, and McDaniels coached O’Connell while he was with the Patriots.  Lastly, the New York Jets, the Patriots most bitter rivals, have made it a habit to bring in former Patriots players over the years.

Mayhew understood that he could potentially claim O’Connell for free, and have three interested suitors that would bid against each other.  The situation played out just as Mayhew expected, and the Lions got a seventh rounder for O’Connell.  While it didn’t seem like much at the time, consider that trade helped the Lions acquire a veteran backup in the prime of his career. 

Hill is familiar with the Lions system after learning it in Minnesota under Scott Linehan, he is 10-6 as a starter, he’s had plenty of recent game experience and he is completely healthy.  With Stafford starting, Hill backing up and Stanton developing in the third slot, the Lions are in the best situation they’ve been in at the quarterback position.

The Detroit Lions are looking for ways high and low to fortify their terrible defense, and one of those avenues has led them to the restricted free agent market.

The Lions, who signed defensive end Kyle Vanden Bosch coming out of the gates in free agency a little more than a week ago, will host New Orleans Saints’ defensive tackle Anthony Hargrove on a visit, according to Jeff Duncan of the New Orleans Times Picayune.

Hargrove made 42 tackles and five sacks for the Super Bowl champions and was a key addition to Gregg Willams’ unit. Hargrove has his career back on track after being forced to sit out the 2008 seasson for a repeated violation of the league’s drug policy. Had he not been forced to sit out the season, he would be an unrestricted free agent right now.

If the Lions sign Hargrove to an offer sheet and the Saints decline to match it, Detroit would have to send New Orleans a third-round draft pick.

If the St. Louis Rams, who have the first overall pick, take Nebraska defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh, the Lions could change course and go for offense. One of the targets on that side of the ball is Oklahoma State offensive tackle Russell Okung, who is visiting the Lions today. The Lions have already had their 15-minute meeting with Okung at the combine and several members of the organization also had dinner with him.

The Detroit Lions have a new backup quarterback, acquiring Shaun Hill in a trade with the San Francisco 49ers. Matt Barros of the Sacramento Bee reports that the 49ers sent Hill to the Lions for a seventh-round draft pick in 2011.

For the Lions, that’s a small price to play for a quarterback who provides some insurance and should be a good veteran presence for starter Matthew Stafford. Lions offensive coordinator Scott Linehan previously worked with Hill in Minnesota when Hill was on the Vikings’ roster.

For the 49ers, a 2011 seventh-round pick is better than nothing, considering that it became obvious Hill was on the way out when they signed David Carr.

Hill has won 10 games in 16 starts for the 49ers over the last three years. The Lions have won nine games, total, over the last three years.

Hill comes aboard as the backup for Matt Stafford, and the fact that the Lions only had to give up a 7th round pick for him is a good move.

I am not a Pacman Jones fan for a multitude of reasons.  First and foremost, his repeated off field incidents are well documented.  However, it’s not the incidents that bother me the most, it’s the fact that he never seemed to learn from them.  Even when he was well-aware that his football career was on the line he still found himself getting into fights with his own bodyguard in Dallas.  He knew that alcohol was a major contributor to his constant delinquency, yet he was always at the clubs.  If he knew that he was a screw up away from being unemployed, why was he still putting himself in these bad situations.  Not only does it mean he has terrible judgement, but how much does football mean to him?  If he lived and died football, he would have kept his nose clean so he’d still have the opportunity to play.  Football was a was to live the high roller lifestyle and that’s why he played, not for the love of the game.

Secondly, on the field Jones is a smallish finesse type of corner who shied away from tackling.  I liken him to a faster Dre Bly, he can cover well but freelances too much, doesn’t contribute against the run and struggles with big physical receivers.

Lastly, he has been out of football for a year.  How many players come back to play at a high level after a year off?  I can’t think of one off the top of my head.  This is a guy who has a questionable work ethic and has displayed no passion for the game.  This will be his second attempted comeback after a missed season, and he wasn’t any good after the first comeback.

Pacman made his choice years ago, being a thug was more important to him than being a football player.  I think his only motivation for coming back is the fact that he’s broke and knows his only other career options involve hairnets and spatulas.  I think the Lions are taking a look because they don’t want to ignore any possibility to make the team better, but I think they will find that Pacman does not help achieve that goal.

In other news, the Browns have decided to release Derek Anderson, as expected, rather than pay his roster bonus that is due in a few days.  He will definitely draw interest considering how weak the free agent quarterback group is.  Will he draw interest from the Lions to serve as Stafford’s backup? 

Anderson enjoyed a Pro Bowl season in 2007 when he and Braylon Edwards established a great rapport.  Anderson doesn’t have the greatest accuracy, but he has good timing on downfield throws and displays a strong enough arm to get the ball there.  Anderson regressed in 2008, but so did his offensive weapons.  Edwards led the league in dropped passes, Kellen Winslow struggled with injuries and the Browns had no running game to speak of.  2009 was abysmal for Anderson as he struggled with learning a new system and the absence of Winslow (traded in the offseason) and Edwards (traded midseason.)

Anderson is only 26 and has played in a Pro Bowl, so he may draw interest as a starter in Buffalo.   Carolina or Arizona could be interested in having him compete with Matt Moore or Matt Leinart for the starting position.  If he doesn’t get the opportunity to start he could make a great backup for the Lions.  He has a similar skill set to Matthew Stafford and they are the same style of player.  Both struggle with accuracy, both are at their best throwing downfield and both are pocket passers.  The Lions obviously need an upgrade over Daunte Culpepper, Anderson could provide that.

Wade has good speed and is an explosive athlete, like Houston, he has yet to capitalize on that ability.  Wade is expected to compete with Eric King for the nickelback position.

The Detroit Lions roster continues to go through a wave of changes as the team announced the signing of tight end Will Heller — to a three-year contract — and free agent receiver Brian Clark. The team also has released veteran defensive end Dewayne White

Here’s the link

Look for the Bears to make a move on White, Marinelli played a big role in bringing White to Detroit.

The Lions are reportedly pursuing Lito Sheppard with some competition from the Bears per ProFootballTalk.com.

Sheppard was drafted by the Eagles and had a contractual based falling out with ownership.  He was traded to the Jets in the 2009 offseason for a fifth round pick in 2009 and a conditional 2010 pick.  The 2010 pick may have been related to him being on the Jets roster since his play didn’t warrant his release.

After a couple of down seasons and some early season injury issues Sheppard put together a strong performance in the second half of the season.  More impressive was the fact that he was being targeted more frequently as teams shied away from teammate Darrelle Revis.

Sheppard has struggled with injuries and is not a long term solution, but the Lions need to add more bodies to the cornerback position to avoid handicapping themselves in the draft.

Today the league is expected to approve a trade that will send Chris Houston to Detroit for a 6th round pick and the Falcons and Lions will swap their fifth round picks.  The trade is contingent upon Houston passing his physical in Detroit.

Houston was a second round pick out of Arkansas in 2007.  He started 37 of the 44 games he played for the Falcons and at one point was viewed as one of the top young corners in the NFC.  He’s struggled with consistency and the Falcons deemed him expendable after they signed Dunta Robinson on Friday.

Houston is a fluid athlete with good height for a starting cornerback.  He has great speed, clocking a 4.32 at the 2007 combine, but he hasn’t been able to harness his talent and get results on the field.

He needs to work on his technique and footwork and must improve his ball skills, he has only picked off three passes in his career and has been flagged 12 times for penalties. 

Houston has all the raw talent in the world, but he never capitalized on it in Atlanta.  Can he excel in Detroit?  If last year was any indication, this coaches staff can maximize the talent of their players, they just had too many players that didn’t have talent.