The Lions have acquired 25-year old cornerback Chris Houston and the Falcons’ 5th round pick in the 2010 NFL Draft for the Lions’ 5th and 6th round picks in the 2010 NFL Draft.  Houston played in 12 games for the Falcons last season and he made 47 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss, he defensed 9 passes and he had 1 interception.  Houston has now played in 44 games in his NFL career and he has made 166 tackles, he has defensed 34 passes, forced 1 fumble and he has 3 interceptions (one returned for a TD).  I love this trade for the Lions as they continue to fill needs for the 2010 season as Houston has a nice upside.

The Lions have acquired 29-year old DT Corey Williams from the Browns for a future late round pick (5th or  6th rounder).  Williams played in all 16 games for the Browns last season and he finished up with 31 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss, 4 sacks, 1 forced fumble and 4 passes defensed.  Williams has now played in 88 games in his NFL career and he has made 199 tackles, 21.5 sacks, forced 6 fumbles, defensed 11 passes and he has 1 interception.  Williams will likely shift back inside where he truly belongs as the Browns miscast him as a DE.  I like this move for the Lions as it gives them more options on draft day because they won’t be forced to take one of the DTs at the top of the draft.  I sense a trade down to get more picks after the Browns/Lions trade.

UPDATE:  The Lions will also receive a 7th round pick in 2010 from the Browns in this deal and they will give up a 5th round pick in 2010.  I like this move for the Lions.

The Detroit Lions have acquired 30-year old linebacker Julian Peterson from the Seahawks for DT Cory Redding and a reported 5th round draft pick.  This was a outstanding trade for the Lions as Peterson will give them some toughness and playmaking ability at linebacker.  Peterson played in all 16 games for the Seahawks last season and he made 86 tackles, defensed 5 passes, had 5 sacks and forced 4 fumbles.  Peterson has now played in 127 games in his NFL career and he has made 643 tackles, defensed 52 passes, has 46 sacks, forced 16 fumbles and he has 8 interceptions. 

Cory Redding is a bit overrated as he has not lived up to the big contract the Lions gave him.  He played in 13 games for the Lions last season and he made 38 tackles and had 3 sacks.  This was a outstanding trade for the Lions.

The Lions have acquired 32-year old cornerback Anthony Henry from the Cowboys in return for 36-year old QB Jon Kitna.  This was a good move for the Lions who were probably going to cut Kitna anyway soon.  Henry played in all 16 games for the Cowboys last season and he made 50 tackles, defensed 5 passes, had 2 sacks, forced 1 fumble and he also had 1 interception.  Henry has now played in 118 games in his 8-year NFL career in which he has made 462 tackles, has defensed 103 passes, has 2 sacks, forced 5 fumbles and he has intercepted 29 passes (3 of which he has returned for TDs).  Henry will immediately upgrade the Lions’ secondary regardless of whether he plays cornerback or safety in 2009.

Jon Kitna had his ups and downs in Detroit but he won’t be missed too much.  He played in 36 games in his three years with the Lions completing 795 of 1,277 passes (62.3%) for 9,034 yards with 44 TD passes and 47 interceptions.  He also carried the ball 65 times for 253 yards (3.9 ypc) with 2 TD runs.  This was a good trade for the Lions as they really needed to shore up the secondary.

The Lions have traded DT Shaun Rogers to the Bengals for either a 3rd or 4th round pick.  Rogers played in 98 games in his career with the Lions and he made 272 tackles, had 29 sacks, defensed 21 passes, forced 4 fumbles and intercepted a pass that he returned 66 yards for a TD.  The Lions will have a hard time replacing Rogers so this trade didn’t make much sense.

UPDATE:  The trade with the Bengals fell through and the Lions got a much better deal with the Cleveland Browns.  The Browns traded a 3rd round pick in the 2008 NFL Draft and CB Leigh Bodden to the Lions for Rogers.  Bodden played in all 16 games last season for the Browns and he made 88 tackles, defensed 15 passes and had 6 interceptions.  Bodden has now played in 59 games in his NFL career and he has made 221 tackles, defensed 48 passes, forced 4 fumbles and intercepted 12 passes.  Bodden will immediately be the Lions best cover corner which was a position of need.