Since almost the day he was hired, Bob Quinn wanted to improve his offensive line. He knew he had to, after the Detroit Lions continually struggled both running the ball and protecting quarterback Matthew Stafford.
On Sunday, Quinn essentially completed that transformation in a little over a year by getting Pro Bowl offensive guard T.J. Lang to agree to a three-year deal with the Lions. For Lang, it's a homecoming since he grew up in suburban Detroit.
For the Lions it’s much more. It’s the final addition to a revamped and improved offensive line, something that seemed questionable even a week ago when it appeared likely Riley Reiff and Larry Warford would leave in free agency.
Instead of being concerned, Quinn made the line better. He brought in Rick Wagner to replace Reiff at right tackle -- a clear upgrade as Wagner was the best right tackle on the market. In Lang, he grabbed one of two players available who were upgrades from Warford, Detroit’s most consistent offensive lineman the past four seasons.
The two will have to get used to playing alongside center Travis Swanson, but instead of replacing the departed veterans with youth and questions, Quinn added more experience and talent. The Lions can go into a season with the offensive line as a complete strength instead of a group loaded with questions.
There are still some concerns, like Lang’s hip surgery, Swanson’s return from a concussion, and whether left tackle Taylor Decker and left guard Graham Glasgow will be able to build on strong rookie seasons. But the proven talent level is there at every position.
There won’t be questions about how rookies handle making the jump to the NFL or if a veteran will be good enough to make the transition to a new team. Wagner and Lang are two of the best at their positions so there should be no issues there.
Signing Wagner and Lang does something else as well. Besides shoring up a group that should be able to open up reasonable-at-worst holes for Detroit’s running backs to improve a rushing game ranked No. 30 in the league, it shows just how serious the Lions are to committing to keeping Stafford safe.
That has to be a priority to Stafford, who is in line to sign a massive contract extension this offseason. Stafford has been sacked 242 times in his eight-year career. More than half of those, 126, have come in the last three seasons as the Lions have continually tried to find an offensive line group that worked, stayed healthy, and played well together.
With Decker at left tackle, Glasgow at left guard, Swanson at center, Lang at right guard and Wagner at right tackle, Stafford has the best possible chance to become the top-level quarterback he showed flashes of being last season.
And if that happens, Detroit could be piecing together its first consistent winner since the mid-1990s.