Lions Cut Kevin Jones and Kalimba Edwards; Another Proud Day in the Millen Regime

It's another proud day in the Matt Millen regime as leader of the Detroit Lions as two more of his top draft picks have been cut from the Lions as the team has announced that both defensive end Kalimba Edwards (who just last season signed a lucrative extension with the team) and running back Kevin Jones are no longer part of the Lions team. While Jones may come back at a reduced salary, that isn't looking incredibly likely at this point, and Edwards won't be back.

Excellent. More top draft picks gone. So aside from Ernie Sims, Roy Williams (who himself isn't likely to be with the team past this season), Jeff Backus, and Calvin Johnson, is anyone left? Daniel Bullocks and Gerald Alexander I guess. Now, cutting Kalimba Edwards, I understand. He has consistently underperformed, he'd never lived up to expectations, and if Rod Marinelli, a defensive-line specialist, can't get anything out of you, it doesn't make much sense to keep you around.

Now Kevin Jones, that I don't understand. Yes, he's been injured. He missed most of the start of last season with a Lisfranc fracture and he tore his ACL near the end of the last season. But from all reports, he was ahead of schedule on his rehab and was all set to be ready for training camp. He and the Lions even just recently agreed that he'd be doing the rest of his rehab here in Detroit. Now, suddenly, he's gone. When healthy last season, Jones was very productive, and he's been productive his whole career when he's been healthy. And with the loss of TJ Duckett earlier this off-season, Jones was key to the Lions offense going into the 2008 season. Now he's gone, leaving the Lions with Tatum Bell, Aveion Cason, and Brain Calhoun (who spends more time on the injured list than Jones).

Which means the Lions will likely spend their first round pick on a running back in this April's draft, which is no less than disastrous. The Detroit Lions have so many holes in key positions (right tackle, defensive end, middle linebacker, outside linebacker) the last thing they need to do is spend ANOTHER first round draft pick on an offensive skill player. Matt Millen has already spent the majority of our first round picks on offensive skill players (Charles Rogers, Joey Harrington, Roy Williams, Mike Williams, Kevin Jones, and Calvin Johnson) and only two remain with the team, and Roy Williams isn't likely to be with the Lions past this season. The only first round draft pick who has made a real impact (okay, maybe Roy Williams has too) is Ernie Sims, who not coincidentally is the only defensive player Millen has chosen in the first round. Wasting another draft pick on a running back when Kevin Jones would have been fine if supplemented with a third round running back is another in a long line of failures by the Detroit Lions.

If we didn't have so many other needs, then maybe. But with the way the team stands now? What a disaster.