Lions LT Jeff Backus announced that he’s retiring from NFL on Thursday.
Backus has played 12 seasons for the Lions since being taken in the 2001 draft. Although he’s been a staple in the Lions’ offense for awhile, he was never voted to a Pro Bowl.
There’s been speculation in recent years that the Lions would likely target a replacement and they wound up drafting Riley Reiff out of Iowa in the first-round of last year’s draft.
Detroit also lost Gosder Cherilus to the Colts a few days ago, so tackle has quickly become a huge need. It will be interesting to see if they pursue a free agent like Eric Winston who could be decent bargain or target someone in the upcoming draft. Eric Fisher or possibly even Lane Johnson could be options for them at No. 5 overall.
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