Tackle-needy Lions add former No. 2 overall pick Greg Robinson, Cyrus Kouandijo
The Lions aren't taking any chances on being caught short at tackle while Taylor Decker recovers from surgery that will sideline him for at least the beginning of the 2017 season.
Detroit on Thursday acquired Greg Robinson from the Rams for a 2018 sixth-round pick (per ESPN) and signed free agent Cyrus Kouandjio, late of the Bills.
Both tackles were highly touted entering the league — Robinson was the No. 2 overall pick out of Auburn in 2014 and Kouandjio was the 44th overall selection that year out of Alabama — but neither has quite lived up to his billing. Of course, that's exactly what made them available to Detroit, and the Lions will hope a change of scenery revives one or both of them.
Robinson started 14 games at left tackle for the Rams last season but was inactive in Week 12 and Week 16 even though he was healthy for both games. Despite missing those two games, only three offensive players in the league accumulated more accepted penalties than Robinson's 11 last season.
When Los Angeles declined the fifth-year option in his rookie contract last month, which would have made him a free agent after the upcoming season, it was clear the team no longer viewed him as a long-term solution.
The Bills didn't even wait that long with Kouandjio, releasing him in late May. Kouandjio started just seven games in three seasons with Buffalo and has been run down by injuries over the past year while also dealing with off-the-field issues.
Kouandjio underwent hip surgery in late January after what the team described as a fall at his home. Then, on April 19, a farmer in Elma, N.Y., called 911 and told police a "large man" was wandering his property. According to the Buffalo News, police responded and found Kouandjio, wearing a T-shirt and underwear but no pants. He had parked his vehicle alongside a nearby highway that had been closed for hours due to a serious wreck.
"He was acting real confused, but he was no threat," a police source told the News at the time. Kouandjio was not arrested in connection with the incident.
Now both men will get a fresh start and have a chance to replace Decker, the 2016 first-round pick who played every snap on offense for the Lions last year. He suffered a torn labrum during an offseason workout and underwent surgery last week, with the expectation that he'll miss four to six months.