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The news goes that former USC Trojans running back Reggie Bush will not be re-signed by the Miami Dolphins this offseason (via Chris Wesseling of NFL.com).

Not because Bush doesn’t want to be a Dolphin, it’s just that Miami isn’t interested in investing money in a 28-year-old running back.

Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald says that the Dolphins will make Bush a “team-friendly” offer, which is a nice way of telling him that he should find another place to call home:

Plan is to make "team friendly" offer. Might get more elsewhere. RT @al1richin: Armando, no word on a R.Bush extension? — Armando Salguero (@ArmandoSalguero) January 12, 2013

Bush has spent the last two seasons in Miami where he totaled 2,072 yards and 12 touchdowns. Not bad for a guy who never rushed for over 1,000 yards while he was in New Orleans.

But since Bush will probably live in another zip code come July of this year, why not visit the Motor City while he’s looking?

When the Detroit Lions ran the ball last season, they didn’t do it that well. Overall, they were the 23rd-best team at pushing beyond the line of scrimmage on the ground.

The team’s leading rusher was Mikel Leshoure, a player who had just one 100-yard rushing game last season, and that came in the first contest of the year against the Tennessee Titans.

He never went beyond 84 yards for the remainder of the season.

In looking at Bush’s production compared to Leshoure’s, there doesn’t seem to be that much of a difference. Bush had just two 100-yard rushing games, and he was wildly inconsistent.

An example of his instability is his two-week swing where he played games against the Jacksonville Jaguars and Buffalo Bills toward the end of the season.

Against the Jags, Bush posted 104 yards and a healthy five-yard-per-rush average. The Dolphins won that game and Bush seemed to be on his way to his second 1,000-yard season.

The next week when the Dolphins played Buffalo, Bush struggled to get to 65 yards. He had 19 carries but never had a rush longer than 10 yards.

Even with Bush’s irregularity with rushing the ball, he would still represent an upgrade for the Lions.

Detroit lost at least 10 games for the eighth time in the last 10 seasons. Bush may not have the ability to pull the Lions out of the basement of the NFL, but he can aid them in their quest to become a playoff team again.

He can return kicks and punts, run running back and bubble screens, and just line up and run the dang ball.

No, Bush will not become a 1,500-yard rusher. He won’t light up the scoreboard with points or set the stat line on fire. But with his presence in the backfield, opposing teams have to commit a defender to him and game-plan against him.

At this point, what do the Lions have to lose?

-JH

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