With the possibility of Carlton Davis leaving, the Lions will need to pivot, and a hidden free-agent option has been suggested.

The Detroit Lions revamped their cornerback depth chart last offseason, with Carlton Davis being the first key addition following a trade from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He then played a stellar season before a broken jaw sidelined him in Week 15.

Davis is also a free agent, so the Lions face an important decision. He should explore other opportunities in the open market, as any player should when they have the chance, and Davis is likely to attract multiple suitors.

If the Lions set a limit on the years and money they’re willing to offer to keep him, they will need to consider alternative options, and Brad Holmes has shown he can handle such situations. Kindle Vildor, another cornerback, is also a free agent.

With other contracts to manage, such as safety Kerby Joseph in the secondary, Davis might simply become too expensive for the Lions to keep on a long-term deal if he aims to maximize his market value. The Lions should have an idea of his asking price before free agency begins.

If Davis departs in free agency, the Lions could decide to invest in a top cornerback on the market. However, a more likely pivot is towards a more affordable option, and Jordan Dajani of CBS Sports suggested a free-agent target for each team, with the Lions focusing on a cheaper move.

Paul Adebo, a third-round pick out of Stanford by the Saints in 2021, has spent his first four seasons in New Orleans. Before his broken femur injury in Week 7 against the Denver Broncos, he was having his best season in various categories. Pro Football Focus ranked him as a top-15 cornerback in the league in both 2022 (11th) and 2023 (15th).

Though his injury was poorly timed, Adebo has expressed confidence in being ready for training camp. Teams interested in him during free agency will monitor his recovery progress.

Spotrac estimates Adebo’s market value at $11.1 million per year, compared to Davis’s $13.8 million, with a projected contract length one year shorter than Davis’s (two versus three years).

Adebo’s skills and performance make him an ideal fit for the Lions and a solid replacement for Davis if they end up needing to make a change.