PHOENIX – Lions general manager Bob Quinn has been busy throughout all phases of free agency so far, and he still isn't done.
"We're still definitely open for business in terms of free agency," Quinn told beat reporters at the league meetings Monday.
"This is kind of a little bit of a lull in the process, but we're constantly evaluating and looking at our options compared to what might be in the draft and try to make those things kind of come together and make the best possible decisions."
Quinn added starters upfront along the offensive line early in free agency with the signings of Rick Wagner and T.J. Lang.
Defensive additions Paul Worrilow (LB), D.J. Hayden (CB), Cornelius Washington (DE), Akeem Spence (DT), Khyri Thornton (DT) and Jordan Hill (DT) add experience and depth to that side of the ball.
Tight end Darren Fells should help improve the blocking on the edge, and allow the Lions some flexibility with their scheme and two tight-end sets.
Free agency is at a point now where there's still veteran talent available, but teams are looking for the right fits . Big-money deals are a rarity.
Detroit could still use playmakers in their front seven, especially at linebacker, where they have just three players – Tahir Whitehead, Paul Worrilow and Antwione Williams – who have any real game experience.
Quinn was also asked Monday about the possibility of kicking the tires on veteran free-agent running back Adrian Peterson, who the Lions know all too well from his time with the Vikings the last nine years.
"I think AP has plenty left in the tank," Quinn said. "So, we'll kind of see how it goes. We've kicked the tires on I'd say hundreds of players. I'm not going to make any specific comments about individual players that we have not signed."
The Lions have been in contact with the representation for free agent receiver Anquan Boldin, and his return to Detroit could still be in the cards.
Quinn said the list would be "a mile long" on the players they've made phone calls on to see what the market was.
"That's just doing our due diligence," he said.
Quinn says he's always trying to improve the depth of this roster.
From the 53-man roster cuts last August to the end of the 2016 season in January, Quinn made 102 roster transactions. That was 42 more than the previous year over the same span.
"The depth thing is huge," Quinn said. "In this league guys are going to get hurt. So, you need that second line of depth players to come in when guys get hurt. They might have to play for a game. They might have to play for five or six games, but you don't want to have a drastic drop-off from level of production from starter to their backup.
"It's going to be a step down. We all know that. But it can't be a complete fall-off."
That's why Quinn has shown over the last 14 months on the job that he's always willing to add to the roster if he sees an opportunity, and he certainly hasn't closed the door on adding to the roster in this free agency period.
