The Lions secondary had a rough time of it against Brandon Weeden and the Browns on Thursday night, which may be just the impetus they need to add another option to the roster.
Adam Schefter of ESPN reports that the Lions will host veteran cornerback Rashean Mathis for a visit on Saturday. Mathis was a second-round pick of the Jaguars in 2003, but Jacksonville decided to move on without him when Mathis became a free agent this offseason and there hasn’t been much public interest from other teams in bringing Mathis aboard.
Mathis, who turns 33 on August 27, didn’t have his best season in 2012 as he struggled in his return from a torn ACL the previous season. With the Lions looking for someone to solidify the depth chart at corner outside of Chris Houston -- Ron Bartell’s been starting with Bill Bentley and rookie Darius Slay doing nickel duty -- there’s not much reason for them not to see if Mathis might be an upgrade over what’s already on hand.
The Browns completed 20-of-26 passes for 223 yards and three touchdowns on Thursday, an efficient and productive performance that also exposed the Lions’ weakness at safety when Louis Delmas is out of the lineup.