Breaking news: cornerback Kindle Vildor re-sign another four years historic contract deal worth $800 million with Detroit Lions….

This offseason, the Detroit Lions made significant improvements to its cornerback room a priority. They traded for Carlton Davis, re-signed Emmanuel Moseley, signed Amik Robertson in free agency, and even with Cam Sutton’s release, the position looks better than it did the previous year.

A few weeks before the NFL draft, though, Lions coach Dan Campbell stated that the organization is worried about more than just that one secondary hole.

During the NFL’s annual meeting last week, Campbell stated, “We’re still going to look for safety help.” That’s also not finished. Again, we are aware that we require some to create some competition in that space. Our eyes are there, then.

Ifeatu Melifonwu and Kerby Joseph are expected to start for the Lions in 2024. Melifonwu, who is in his final year of a rookie contract, has never started more than six games in a season and is coming off of an offseason surgery. However, Joseph is expected to return from surgery this spring.

For the second consecutive year, Joseph led the Lions in interceptions last season with four, while Melifonwu is coming off a breakout 2023 season with three sacks and two interceptions.

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The lone backup safety on the Lions roster at the moment is Brandon Joseph, an undrafted rookie who spent the whole previous season on the practice squad. However, defensive back Brian Branch, a second-year player, may eventually be included in the safety mix, according to Campbell.

Branch, who mostly played slot cornerback, had an outstanding first campaign.

According to Campbell, “we believe that certain Branch has the flexibility to play the safety position at this time.” “We already have a great deal of confidence on the nickel. He will only continue to improve. And I genuinely believe that he will be able to get there; the question is, how quickly can you get him there? You don’t want to do that because, although he can play safety and nickel, it detracts from his nickel performance. How excellent can he get, or how good is he as a nickel? Thus, the task is to strike a delicate balance between the two.

The inconsistent past of the No. 29 choice in the NFL Draft includes busts, Hall of Famers, and a fabled Lion.

In that sense, Branch’s career trajectory is comparable to that of C.J. Gardner-Johnson, who began his career as a slot cornerback with the New Orleans Saints during the time that both Campbell and Aaron Glenn, the defensive coordinator for the Lions, were assistants on the team. After being traded to the Philadelphia Eagles in Year 4, Gardner-Johnson developed into one of the NFL’s best safeties.

After signing Gardner-Johnson as a slot cornerback in the spring of last year, the Lions shifted him to safety following Branch’s breakout performance during training camp. Gardner-Johnson re-signed with the Eagles in free agency after missing the most of the previous campaign due to a torn pectoral muscle.

Campbell remarked, “Ducey was the same way when we got him in New Orleans.” Is he a nickel or a safety? That was, guy. And he really went crazy when we let him play nickel. As you can see, at this point in his career, he is genuinely capable of doing both. It simply depends on how quickly he can reach that goal, as he made significant progress in both areas.

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Prior to Melifonwu being a starter and during Gardner-Johnson’s injury last season, Branch filled in at safety for the Lions.

At the Super Bowl, he revealed to the Free Press that while he was pleased with his overall performance, he had mixed thoughts about his play as a rookie and left certain plays on the field.

After the Lions moved Branch back to slot cornerback on a full-time basis, Campbell noted that Branch’s career truly took off.

We thought that we divided his attention too quickly when we attempted to cross across, according to Campbell. And he will understand. Let him continue to mature at the nickel position and then he’ll be able to tell us where we can go with him. Just spoon-feed it, guy, rather than trying to just toss him out there.

The NFL’s new kickoff regulations may make safety a more valuable position for special teams, therefore the Lions need to add at least one safety in the second round of free agency or the draft.

The top safeties available are Justin Simmons, Marcus Maye, and former Lion Quandre Diggs. However, all three players may be seeking starting jobs, and the draft is thought to be fairly deep at the position, with players like Tyler Nubin of Minnesota, Cole Bishop of Utah, and Cooper DeJean of Iowa (who will play cornerback for some teams) projected to be selected in the top 50.

Vildor comes back.
The Lions announced on Wednesday that cornerback Kindle Vildor has signed a one-year contract extension.