The Detroit Lions picked up an easy win in Week 9. Detroit cruised to a lazy 19-9 victory over Miami just before the NFL trade deadline. Now the Lions find themselves at 6-2 on the season and right in the thick of the NFC North division race. If Detroit can continue to stack wins, they'll have a good chance of making the playoffs this winter.
If there's one area where Detroit needs to improve, it is certainly on defense. The Lions have depth issues in their secondary as usual. They are also dealing with linebacker problems after losing Jack Campbell for the foreseeable future with a scary neck injury. Plus DJ Wonnum, Mekhi Wingo, and a host of other players are dealing with lingering injuries.
The return of Kerby Joseph should help a little bit. But the Lions would be wise to consider adding some reinforcements at the deadline. They could be just one or two defensive players away from having a truly dangerous roster.
So will the Lions make a move at the deadline? And if so, who might they have their eyes on?
This is one trade that the Lions need to pull off before the 2026 NFL trade deadline.
The Lions need to reunite with cornerback Carlton Davis at the trade deadline
Here are the terms of this hypothetical trade before getting into any of the analysis.
Lions receive:
- CB Carlton Davis III
Patriots receive:
- CB Ennis Rakestraw Jr.
- 2026 fourth-round pick
Davis is certainly a player the Lions need to keep an eye on.
Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated named Davis as a player to watch ahead of the deadline. The Patriots have not given any signals that they are trying to trade Davis, but they could be persuaded with the right offer.
Still, head coach Mike Vrabel downplayed the trade rumors during an interview ahead of Week 9.
“This time of year, I think that all these things kind of get drummed up,” Vrabel said, per Nicole Yang of the Boston Globe. “So, we’re focused on trying to prepare for Green Bay and make the corrections from the game. This is business as normal here, so I don’t know where a lot of these things come from. Certainly not from any conversations with me.”
One reason to believe in this deal is New England's financial position. The Patriots don't have much cap space in future seasons, so making gains anywhere they can should be a priority. New England likely won't get much from the compensatory pick formula this year either, so reinforcements aren't automatically on the way.
If the Patriots trade away Davis, they'll gain $16.5 million in cap space this year and in 2027. That could help New England a lot, especially after paying Christian Gonzalez $135 million this offseason.
Meanwhile, Rakestraw will still be under contract in 2027. He would give the Patriots a cheap, high-upside option at cornerback.
The combination of cap savings, draft pick, and young player would make this offer tempting for New England's front office.
Would Carlton Davis fix Detroit's secondary issues?
That explains why the Patriots might consider trading Davis back to the Lions. But does this trade make much sense for Detroit? And more importantly, would it solve their defensive issues?
The Lions desperately need to add bodies on the boundary. Davis checks that box and would give Detroit two solid starters between him and D.J. Reed. This does not magically fix all of Detroit's problems, but it does make their starting lineup much more competitive. In fact, it makes their defense downright viable against playoff-caliber offenses.
Davis has some familiarity with defensive coordinator Kelvin Sheppard. After all, he did spent a season in Detroit's defense in 2024. Sheppard's scheme is different from Aaron Glenn's, but similar enough that Davis could probably get up to speed pretty fast.
Lions fans already know that Davis is a playmaker on defense. One knock on him is his availability. Davis has missed multiple games with a neck injury in 2026. He's still the same player when available, but the Lions could be spooked by that neck injury. Especially after Campbell's neck injury from last week.
The most awkward part about this trade is that it would have to happen just before Week 10. That means Davis would be changing teams just before an international game in Germany between the two teams.
This trade seems to make a lot of sense for both teams. However, that upcoming international game may be just enough friction to keep a trade like this from happening.
Regardless, players like Davis are exactly who Lions fans should be praying for ahead of the trade deadline on Tuesday afternoon.