One of the longest tenured Lions may have seen his Detroit career come to an end with Saturday night's loss tot he New Orleans Saints. Jeff Backus, who has toiled in Detroit since being a first round selection in 2001 by the club, tore his bicep muscle and will likely miss a significant amount of time according to sources:
Schwartz: Backus was scheduled for surgery today. He's going to miss "a significant portion of time" - @freeplions via Twitter
Backus is a free agent after this season, so his injury and contract situation could see the Lions looking elsewhere to replace him if he is going to miss the start of the season. Backus has provided critical depth on this year's team, but Detroit could look for a younger tackle to add to the club via the draft at a cheaper price since Backus is a veteran lineman that would fetch a higher price in free agency.
For more on the Detroit Lions heading into the offseason, check out Pride of Detroit. You can also head over to SB Nation's main NFL hub at SBNation.com/NFL.