The Detroit Lions are 1-6, but don’t expect them to start trying to sell off players with the trade deadline approaching next week.
Instead, general manager Martin Mayhew told reporters in England on Friday he’s more interested in being a buyer at the deadline.
"We’re going to be probably more buyers than sellers, and we’ve had some dialogue already about some guys around the league," Mayhew said via the Detroit Free Press. "So we’re actively looking at those situations."
Acting as buyers and not sellers also includes not moving receiver Calvin Johnson or quarterback Matthew Stafford -- probably the franchise's two most valuable pieces. Mayhew made moves earlier this season, acquiring draft picks from Seattle and New England in exchange for cornerback Mohammed Seisay and tight end Michael Williams.
Mayhew called any thoughts of moving on from Stafford "comical," according to the team’s website and said that if he had "22 Matthew Staffords, we’d win a championship every year."
The team was thrifty during free agency as a way to ensure keeping compensatory selections for free agent departures like Ndamukong Suh and Nick Fairley. So the past few months have been about stockpiling picks, not players.
But this was before the Lions were 1-6 and one of the worst teams in the NFL. So Mayhew explained his decision to buy, not sell, in simple terms according to the Free Press.
"We’re trying to win some football games," Mayhew said. "We need some quality players to help us win football games."
