Vince Young to the Lions?

I was listening to radio today and the discussion was about who might start next season under center for my beloved Honolulu Blue and Silver. Normally, I would make a joke here about how sad it is that we are already considering next season and it’s only Week 8, but at this point, it’s not funny anymore. Anyway, the possibility of trading the Dallas Cowboys’ first round pick to the Titans for Vince Young was brought up and it very much intrigues me. The trade could definitely help both sides. By benching Young, the Titans have all but killed VY’s career in Tennessee. Young has lost the trust of that coaching staff and I think both sides know that, barring an injury to Kerry Collins this season, Young will not be back under center for the Titans again in his career. The best solution for both parties is for Young to be traded and the Titans will not get a better offer than a mid-first round pick that’s getting higher and higher with every snap that Brad Johnson takes. From the Lions’ point of view, it is obvious that they need a quarterback. Hell, for the sake of comedy, let’s run down the Lions current QB situation. They have Jon Kitna, who apparently tweaked his back because he has been sleeping with Mike Martz’s playbook under his mattress, Dan Orlovsky, who obviously struggled to color within the lines as a child, Drew Stanton, who seems to have proved to the coaches that he is unequivocally worse than Orlovsky, and Drew Henson, who was once beaten out for a QB job by Quincy Carter. The Lions have nothing close to an NFL starting quarterback and will probably use one of their two first rounders next year to get one. No matter who they hire as the new GM, I do not trust the Lions to draft a quarterback in the first round (see Andre Ware and Joey Harrington for reasons why) and trading for Young would eliminate the possibility of using their inevitable top-5 pick on risky quarterback (read: Tim Tebow). I would rather see the Lions use their higher picks to build from the trenches and trading for Young would go a long way toward ensuring this. Young would also help the Lions to be more successful right away, as his mobility would take pressure off of Detroit’s terrible offensive line. On the surface, it looks like a win-win, no-brainer move, but I think that this whole situation rides on how Young is reacting to his benching and the Titans’ subsequent success. My feeling on Young is that he puts too much pressure on himself. He knew how good this Titans team was and when we felt that he was dragging them down, he flipped out. I don’t think hearing the fans booing would have bothered him if he didn’t know in his heart of hearts that he deserved those boos. Now has been benched and his team is rolling without him. Does he feel sorry for himself? Or is he determined to validate his status as a top-5 draft pick? Based on Mr. Young’s work at Texas, I would lean toward the latter. Much like his first couple of years with the Titans, Young struggled early in his career at Texas, but with time and hard work, he turned himself into one of the greatest college football players of his generation. Now, I’m not saying that Vince Young is going to become a transcendent NFL quarterback, but I think that he has the tools to be a damn good one. I know that he has struggled in the NFL, but I just find I hard to believe that somebody who was so dominant against elite competition in college (he beat Michigan and USC by himself in consecutive Rose Bowls) could turn out to be a dud as an NFL player. Who knows, maybe I’m wrong and Young just peaked too early, but I have a feeling that the talent, poise and leadership and VY showed in Austin is going to translate to success in the NFL eventually. Long story short, the Lions need to take risks if they’re going to dig themselves out of Matt Millen’s grave, and this is certainly a risk that is worth taking.