Four members of the Detroit Lions' 2011 draft class have gotten into trouble this offseason, totaling five arrests and an in-practice sucker punch. One NFL executive told NFL Network's Albert Breer there's only one way to solve the situation: Cut someone.
"You gotta show them you're not gonna stand for it," he said.
That's easy to say when you're talking about another team. The Lionsaren't going to cut Nick Fairley, Titus Young or Mikel Leshoure because they were all high picks with high potential. The team could choose to cut last year's seventh-round pick, Johnny Culbreath, but we're not sure that would send a message.
(Other than: We'll cut you if you're arrested and not a high pick).
Many executives aren't too surprised to see the Lions' troubles. Fairley, Young and Leshoure were all red-flagged for off-the-field issues before the draft. Taking one of them poses much less of a risk than three in a row.
"You start making exceptions, and it's the old Ron Wolf theory, all of the sudden, you've got a team full of exceptions," an AFC personnel executive told Breer.
Making news for the wrong reasons this offseason has been the rule, not the exception, for the Lions' 2011 draft class.