Detroit "is always a special place for me," said Quandre Diggs. Could he call it home again?
Diggs was released Tuesday by the Seahawks in a series of cap-saving moves under new head coach Mike Macdonald, leaving the star safety in search of a new team. Maybe his old one will come calling.
The Lions need playmakers in the secondary. And while they look good at safety between Kerby Joseph and Ifeatu Melifownu, C.J. Gardner-Johnson is set to be a free agent and the depth chart beyond that is bare. One injury and the outlook changes in a hurry. Would adding another proven player to the mix be the worst idea?
Diggs, 31, would surely pick up the phone. When he made his return to Ford Field two years ago with the Seahawks, he expressed love for Detroit and admiration, from afar, for Dan Campbell. The hard-hitting ballhawk was a fan favorite and a player-voted captain for the Lions before Matt Patricia shipped him to Seattle to snuff out his voice and tighten his own grip on a strangled locker room. The only thing Patricia eliminated was a really good player, but we digress.
"You gotta think, bro, that's where I spent my first four-and-a-half years in the league," Diggs said in September of 2022. "If Detroit wouldn’t have taken a shot on a sixth-round guy from Texas, I might not be who I am today. ... That's what made me. Before I was here, I was in Detroit making a name for myself."
That was in the midst of Diggs' third straight Pro Bowl season with Seattle. His 18 interceptions since getting traded by the Lions are fourth most in the NFL. (Only Tyrann Mathieu, J.C. Jackson and Justin Simmons have more.) His ball production dipped this season -- just one pick and five passes defended -- and he recorded one of the worst Pro Football Focus grades of his career. Diggs would probably own it.
Would you bet against him to bounce back? Better yet, how much would you bet on him? Diggs is as driven as they come, and will be motivated to show that the Seahawks shouldn't have cut him loose. The Lions have lived for a long time with the regret of kicking him to the curb. Now they could be the ones to benefit.
Diggs was set to cost the Seahawks $21.3 million against the cap next season in the final year of a $39 million deal, which is the biggest reason they let him go. He hasn't missed a game in four seasons and was voted a captain the last two seasons. He's a smart, durable player who would fit a team in Detroit defined by grit and a locker room where the supreme authority is the pursuit of winning.
"I'm a pretty outspoken guy and some people can't take that, so there you go," Diggs said of the trade that sent him to Seattle, where he thrived under a player's coach in Pete Carroll.
"My first three years in the league with Coach Caldwell, I was able to let loose and just be who I am. It’s not like it’s a bad thing, but I’m an expressive person who wears my emotions on my sleeve and sometimes I get mad. I express my feelings to teammates and to coaches, but I’ve never had a problem with that in my life until the year and a half with the other regime (in Detroit)," he said.
When he was asked about the current regime, Diggs said, "Those guys are going. Dan Campbell is in and I love what they're doing. It's cool to see those guys back on the right track." And that was two years ago, before the Lions closed 2022 on a tear and came within a game -- a half, really -- of the Super Bowl in 2023. Diggs, who only made it as far as the divisional round in Seattle, will be looking to sign with a contender.
Is Diggs worth a short-term deal packed with incentives? He would be for Detroit. Defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn found ways to weaponize three safeties when Gardner-Johnson returned from injury and joined Joseph and Melifonwu at the end of this season, and maybe that's the safety they choose to bring back. No arguments here. But Gardner-Johnson might be looking for more money and more term than Diggs at this point in his career, and Diggs feels like a better bet to stay on the field.
Brad Holmes talks often about the importance of building a roster that can win in December and January. That is, your starters don't mean much in March. Joseph and Melifonwu are a solid pairing in the backend of the secondary, until one of them gets hurt. Then what? Diggs would not only help the Lions withstand the attrition of the regular season, he'd add a proven set of hands and instincts to a defense that needs to force more turnovers in 2024.
He said he was "forever grateful for my opportunity" with the Lions. Maybe it wasn't his last.