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ESPN: Ngata, Walker, Charles Are Lions' 'Instant Impact' Free Agent Signings

By Dan Jenkins
@DanTJenkins

The 2016 offseason is a big one for the Detroit Lions.

New general manager Bob Quinn has his hands full rebuilding a team that has made to playoffs only twice in the past 16 seasons. Increasing the degree of difficulty for Quinn will be having to add impact players on an offense that lost Hall of Fame wide receiver Calvin Johnson to retirement.

However, according to ESPN's Michael Rothstein, finding someone to fill Megatron's shoes in offensive coordinator Jim Bob Cooter's system isn't the most important challenge facing Quinn in free agency.

"Replacing Calvin Johnson is going to be a by-committee task, so I'd go with the re-signings of defensive tackles Haloti Ngata and Tyrunn Walker and the signing of Stefan Charles. The three are likely to be a large part of Detroit's defensive tackle rotation this fall, and if the Lions want to have a competent defense again under Teryl Austin, production from these three will matter. There's a good chance these three end up comprising a good amount of Detroit's interior defensive line snaps."

Ever since the departure of Ndamukong Suh, the Lions have been forced to patch together their defensive line through free agency and trades. Detroit traded for Ngata just days after Suh signed with the Miami Dolphins in March 2015 and signed Walker to a one-year contract just a few days later.

Charles, who played his first three seasons with the Buffalo Bills, has only five career sacks and 48 tackles. Lions signed him to a one-year contract last week.

Ngata, Walker and Charles struggled to stay on the field in 2015, but should be effective this season if healthy.

But is bringing back two questionable players from last season and counting on another young, unproven player going to have that big of an immediate impact on Detroit's defensive line?

Let us know what you think by voting in the poll below!

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