Cornerback is one of the positions the Lions are expected to address in the draft and it might be a more urgent need than originally thought.
We already knew that the Lions had their concerns about cornerback Chris Houston’s ability to return to form in 2014 and General Manager Martin Mayhew provided some more details about those concerns at his pre-draft press conference on Monday. Mayhew said, via Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press, that Houston is still dealing with the toe injury that hampered him during the 2013 season and that they’re trying to come up with a treatment plan that will get him over it once and for all.
One of the options under consideration is surgery. There was no discussion of how long an operation would keep Houston out of action, but it’s a safe bet he’d be out until at least training camp. Because of the injury, Mayhew admitted “there is a concern” regarding Houston going forward.
A concern about the overall quality of the cornerback corps goes right along with it, which should make it a priority when the draft gets underway on Thursday.