The Detroit Lions are confirming once and for all they are not trading Ndamukong Suh. The defensive tackle is not for sale. This has been speculated for weeks now as the Detroit Lions continue with contract negotiations that have hit the skids. The defensive tackle will remain with Detroit whether a deal gets done this summer or not. So if Suh is staying put, is Jadeveon Clowney or Khalil Mack still a draft target?
"We're not looking to trade him," general manager Martin Mayhew said, via MLive.com. "There are no plans to trade him. I haven't had any conversations with anybody about trading him. There are a lot of scenarios you can create where it might make sense to do something with him. You can think through all that stuff. The bottom line is winning football games. And we're trying to win football games. [Suh's] the guy who helps us do that. So I plan on Ndamukong being with us."
The speculation regarding Suh originally began when the Lions opted to bring in Clowney for a workout. Why would the Lions look at the potentially No. 1 draft pick when they have Suh, Nick Fairley and second year star Ezekiel Ansah manning the defense. Things became a bit more clearer when Fairley's fifth-year option was declined. The team is hoping that pushes the defensive tackle to work a bit harder. Then came reports of the struggling contract negotiations with Suh.
If Clowney or Khalil Mack are still targets after the Lions denied that any of their defensive stars are going somewhere, the team will have to sell the farm to get them. Both players could easily be taken in the top two picks in certain scenarios. The Lions make their first pick at No. 10. It would take a lot to get either one. So if now a defensive player then who? Sammy Watkins says that the Lions will trade up, but for him.
The wide receiver recently sat down with NFL.com's Ian Rapoport and noted that the Lions have expressed a lot of interest in him and he is confident the team will make the jump to draft him. Watkins is another player that could go as high as No. 2, but the wide receiver believes Detroit will make the move.
Mayhew was very complimentary of Watkins and the potential he has to be a star alongside Calvin Johnson and Golden Tate, but is he willing to give up a lot to get another wide receiver? Staying pat at No. 10 will not get Detroit Watkins or even Mike Evans. A trade is the only option.
