Detroit Lions GM: 'We can compete with any team in the league'

Dave Birkett | Detroit Free Press

Three years into his tenure as Detroit Lions general manager, Bob Quinn said his team's roster is good enough to compete with anyone in the NFL.

"I think going forward we’re going to have some other things that we’re going to have to adjust along the way, whether that’s now, whether that’s in September, whether that’s trade deadline or going into next year," Quinn said in a pre-training camp interview Friday on WJR-AM (760). "But in the present, going into camp, starting today, we feel good about our personnel. We feel like we can compete with any team in the league and we’re really excited about it."

The Lions are coming off back-to-back nine-win seasons, but after missing the playoffs last year they retooled their coaching staff, running game and defensive front seven.

Their two best pass rushers, defensive end Ziggy Ansah and linebacker Devon Kennard, sat out the first practice of training camp Friday on the physically unable to perform and non-football injury lists, respectively, and first-year coach Matt Patricia said it's too early to know whether the team has enough pass rush to get through the season.

Both Ansah and Kennard are expected back at some point before the regular season opener Sept. 10 against the New York Jets.

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New additions LeGarrette Blount and Kerryon Johnson are expected to split running back duties, and first-round pick Frank Ragnow was seen as the final piece to what should be an improved offensive line.

The Lions enter camp with few starting spots up for grabs, and Quinn said the roster is "getting close" to where he envisioned it when he took over after the 2015 season.

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Since then, the Lions have spent first-round picks on three players expected to be staples of their roster, Ragnow, Taylor Decker and Jarrad Davis, and they've added key players like Marvin Jones and T.J. Lang in free agency.

"Each year we bring in different levels of player," Quinn said. "Free agency, (some) years we’re going to be super active cause we have a lot of cap room, some years we’re not. This year, going back, we try to evaluate the draft two years out to see how guys are doing, so I think some of the guys I drafted my first year played well their first couple years and we expect another jump this year so I think we’re getting there.

"I want to add more pieces, obviously, with the new defense and kind of a new scheme on that we’re going to have to make a little bit of adjustment there with the style of player we’re looking for."

Contact Dave Birkett: dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @davebirkett. Download our Lions Xtra app for free on Apple and Android!