It was known that Lions receiver Nate Burleson will miss the rest of the season with a broken leg. It wasn’t known when he’ll be back.
According to Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press, Burleson will need up to eight months to recover. That means he’ll miss most of the 2013 offseason program.
With his salary shooting from $825,000 to $4.5 million next season, it also means there’s a good chance that, without a restructured contract, he has played his last game as a Lion.
The Lions are counting on Titus Young and/or Ryan Broyles to step up. Burleson’s absence also will create more opportunities for tight end Tony Scheffler, who’ll line up in the slot.
Call us crazy (as if you need an invitation), but we’d also consider the possibility of shifting Jahvid Best to slot receiver in the hopes of reducing the inevitability of further concussions that will exist if he continues to play running back, and in order to create more chances for him to use his speed and agility away from the center of the line of scrimmage.