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Predicting 3 Lions free agents Aaron Glenn and New York Jets might steal
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- Predicting 3 Lions free agents Aaron Glenn and New York Jets might steal
The Detroit Lions have to contend with two familiar faces elsewhere in the NFL after former coordinators Aaron Glenn ( New York Jets ) and Ben Johnson ( Chicago Bears ) took first-time head coaching jobs.
The Lions will face Johnson twice a year but will not see Glenn as often after he left to lead his former team in the AFC East. The Lions will host the Jets in 2026 .
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However, one place where the Lions will be competing with the Jets soon is in the free agent market, which opens officially Wednesday afternoon. Teams can begin negotiating with players from other teams starting Monday, during the legal tampering period, and officially sign players on Wednesday afternoon.
Aaron Glenn is introduced as the new head coach of the New York Jets at a news conference at the Atlantic Health Jets Training Center on Jan. 27, 2025 in Florham Park, N.J.
The Jets had one of the more disappointing seasons in 2024. They fired head coach Robert Saleh a month into the season before finishing 5-12. The Jets limped to the finish line before clearing house to make way for Glenn and new general manager Darren Mougey to start a rebuild.
New York has plenty of question marks around the roster, starting with quarterback and wide receiver after deciding to let go of Aaron Rodgers and Davante Adams to kick off the revamp. The Jets also have holes to fill on Glenn's side of the ball, the defense, along the line and in the secondary.
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Here are three names the Jets could look at from the Lions' list of pending free agents to potentially plug those spots. The Lions have 22 players set to become unrestricted free agents Wednesday.
CB Carlton Davis III
Green Bay Packers tight end Tucker Kraft (85) makes a catch for a first down against Detroit Lions cornerback Carlton Davis III (23) during the second half at Ford Field in Detroit on Thursday, Dec. 5, 2024.
The Lions traded for Davis last offseason, and he stepped into the role as the team's top cornerback until he broke his jaw in December against the Buffalo Bills . Davis, 28, looked like a natural fit in Glenn's aggressive defensive scheme predicated around playing man coverage.
The Jets already have a top corner in Detroit King alumnus Ahmad "Sauce" Gardner , but corners D.J. Reed and Brandin Echols are set to become free agents. If the Jets want to target one of the top names in the cornerback free agent market as a replacement, Davis' familiarity with Glenn makes him a top fit.
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ANALYSIS: Carlton Davis III free agency projection: Will Lions re-sign veteran cornerback?
S Ifeatu Melifonwu
S Ifeatu Melifonwu signs autographs after the Detroit Lions training camp at their training facility in Allen Park, Mich. on Monday, July 29, 2024.
Melifonwu, similar to Davis, could be an option for the Jets to address their secondary. Melifonwu ended the 2023 season as one of the Lions' starting safeties but spent most of 2024, the final year of his rookie contract, on the injured list. The Lions have one of the top safety duos in the league in Kerby Joseph and Brian Branch , which could make it easier to move on from one of general manager Brad Holmes' first draft picks.
In addition to the two corners they might be losing, the Jets have four safeties — Chuck Clark , Tony Adams (restricted), Jalen Mills and Ashtyn Davis — set to become free agents. Melifonwu, who turns 26 in May, is a good blitzer and can play as a back-end safety or in the box, which fits with Glenn's blitz-heavy scheme .
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DE Marcus Davenport
Glenn was a fan of Davenport's strength and ability to set an edge early in the season for the Lions before Davenport went down in Week 3 with a torn triceps. Davenport, 28, has been oft-injured throughout his career, which will depress his market just like last year when he signed a one-year prove-it deal with Detroit . If the Jets want to add a run-stopping edge rusher with the ability to impact the pocket on power rushes, Davenport could be one of the cheaper options available.
READ MORE: Dejected about his latest injury, Marcus Davenport's 4-year-old son gave him light
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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Predicting 3 Lions free agents Jets and Aaron Glenn might steal
