The Detroit Lions need help at defensive end. What’s on the NFL trade market?
The club placed oft-injured starter Marcus Davenport (chest) on injured reserve Monday, a few hours before their Monday Night Football game at the Baltimore Ravens.
The Lions are already without defensive lineman Levi Onwuzurike and Ahmed Hassanein for the season, and Josh Paschal is on the Reserve/Non-Football Injury.
Veteran Al-Quadin-Muhammad is expected to move into the defensive end spot to start opposite Aidan Hutchinson. Muhammad had three sacks in nine games (two starts) for the Lions last season after originally signing to the team’s practice squad in October. He had one sack and five quarterback pressures in Week 2 against the Chicago Bears.
Here are five potential trade candidates for the Lions to look at for defensive end.
Buzz: Hendrickson was on the trade market all summer after he and the Bengals could not agree to a new deal and he once again requested a trade. The parties finally agreed in late August on a revised one-year deal worth $30 million. He has had 17½ sacks each of the past two seasons, and is familiar with Campbell when both were in New Orleans from 2017-20. Hendrickson has two sacks in three games for Cincinnati (2-1), which is without Joe Burrow for a few months. Hendrickson was second in 2024 Defensive Player of the Year voting.
Age: 26.
Buzz: Phillips was the 18th overall pick by Miami in the 2021 NFL Draft. After playing in 17 games in each of his first two seasons (15½ sacks combined), he played in eight games in 2023 with 6½ sacks and four in 2024 with one sack. He has nine tackles in three games for the 0-3 Dolphins. He is playing on the final year of his rookie deal.
Age: 36.
Buzz: Jordan has spent his entire career with the Saints, who are 0-3 this season. He had 1½ sacks in Week 1 against Arizona. He had four sacks in 17 games last season and two sacks in 17 games in 2023. Jordan, an eight-time Pro Bowl selection, has 123 sacks in 229 games in the regular season. He’s familiar with Lions coach Dan Campbell, when Campbell was a Saints assistant from 2016-20.
Age: 35.
Buzz: Autry is currently on the physically unable to perform with a knee injury for the 0-3 Texans. He must miss at least one game. Autry has 62 career sacks in 152 games in the regular season. He had three sacks in 10 games last season for Houston. In 2023, he collected a career-best 11½ sacks for the Tennessee Titans. He has also played in Oakland and Indianapolis.
Age: 33.
Buzz: The Lions’ interest in Judon may be more realistic than Phillips, because the Lions were in contact with Judon before he signed with Miami on Aug. 19. He has three tackles in three games for the Dolphins. Judon has 72 career sacks, which entering the season was tied for eighth-most among active players since he entered the league in 2016. Judon, a four-time Pro Bowl selection (2019-22), was a fifth-round pick by the Ravens after dominating at Grand Valley State (2012-15) as the school’s all-time leader with 35 sacks. He went to West Bloomfield High School.
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