We talk about needs a lot, and there are plenty.  I took a look at the roster as it regards to contract status and player mix and came up with 16 offseason needs to be filled.  Obviously these cannot all be filled but they are worth noting when considering free agency and the draft.  Here is what I came up with.  This is why "Best Player Available" at any position of need must be adhered to.  You cannot solve all of these problems in this offseason.  Especially when you consider that this draft is considered shallow by most experts and free agency is quite limited by the lack of a CBA . 

Quarterbacks: Needs 2
Culpepper is a free agent and Stanton is in his final contract year.  We obviously need a backup, but Stanton needs a threat in camp again.  I would not be surprised to see a free agent and a draft pick or undrafted free agent here.  Sorry but that performance by Stanton against SF would have gotten him cut from half the teams in this league.

Backfield: Needs 1
Smith may not be ready to go and has been limited when played. The release of Terrell Smith opens a spot here.  Brown has been a shaky roster spot, he has been benched often and could not match his pre-season electricity.  Smith and Felton are in the final year of their contracts.  We need at least one player of starting caliber here.

Wide Receivers: Needs 1
Bryant Johnson seems to not be the answer at the #2 spot.   However he is under contract as is Northcutt, CJ and Derrick Williams.  The 5th spot has been journeymen only.  This would be a target of opportunity for Mayhew.  I believe he would upgrade the position if the opportunity was the right one, but would also be content to pass.

Tight Ends: Needs 2
Sounds crazy I know but Heller and Cfitz are free agents.  I would imagine that they will try to resign Heller, but its up to him.  Gronko is signed to a futures deal, but he was always first on the cut list this year.  I'd hate to imagine a draft pick, but a mid to late rounder is not out of the question.  More so if Heller is not resigned.

Offensive Line: Needs 3
Starting Left Guard is obviously priority one in this group.  Beyond that a backup guard is also needed since the ones we have can’t do the job either.  We presently have no backup right tackle.  I would assume Loper would be a backup left next year, but the right side has nothing.   I liked Damion Cook actually but he is a free agent and missed an entire year with an injury.  It could be interesting at the #34 pick if a Bryan Bulaga or Trent Williams somehow falls that far, a tackle with upside would be hard to pass up.

Defensive Ends: Needs 1
Avril, McBride, DeVries and White are under contract.  Hunter will be restricted, but will be tendered no doubt.  I would expect White to be cut because of the uncapped rules.  This leaves a spot open, plus none of the other players are immune from upgrade.  This is a spot like the Wide Receivers in my opinion.  Mayhew would take a player, but also let it ride if nothing was there.  This group did pretty well actually, the rush got there but the pocket never collapsed.

Defensive Tackles: Needs 1
Cohen, Fluellen, Hill and Jackson are all under contract.  Flu and Cohen do not fit what Schwartz is trying to do here and I expect one or both of them to be culled out this year.  Hill has been fantastic considering his small school background.  The coaches said not to expect much this year and he ended up starting.  That is a huge testament to his ability.  Big Grady took over 400 snaps this year and that is too much.  That number should be closer to 250 snaps.  A starter next to Hill is another glaring need.  Collapsing that pocket into the QB would make the whole defense better, Grady is too old and too big do this.  He is here to stuff the run anyways.

Linebackers: Needs 1
The deepest of any Lions position group should still not be ignored.  Sims finished strong with Levy pushing him on the weakside.  Up the middle Foote was a welcome sight after the Paris Lenon experience.  I do think he will be resigned but relegated to a two down player while Levy or another player is groomed as his replacement.  Peterson is an interesting situation.  He is the highest paid player on defense and scheduled to get $7.5 mil in 2010, $8 mil in 2011 with a team option for $8.5 mil in 2012.  With 2010 being uncapped, I believe that he will return, but by 2011 he will be cut or have to renegotiate a deal.  This makes him a possible trade target especially to 3-4 teams with a pass rush need.  I think JP is back for 2010, but if his name is called as a draft day trade I would not be shocked.  If Foote is resigned then we do not technically need a LB.  But much like defensive end, the players are either getting older or fit better in other schemes.  This is another spot Mayhew might grab a player if he grades out the right way.

Safety: Needs 2
Wow, this time last year most fans though we were set with Bullocks and Alexander.  What a difference an offseason makes.  Delmas was stout and will be a star.  Simpson and Manuel were hit and miss opposite Delmas and if either were back as the starter next year it would not be the worst thing ever.  The thing to keep in mind though is that the Bills thought so much of Simpson they drafted over him twice and traded him for a 7th.  Both Simpson and Manuel would be fine to have back but I would be happier if they were backups.  Pearson, Bullocks and White are in the mix as backups as well.  Only Delmas and Pearson are under contract at this time.

Cornerbacks: Needs 2
Of the players under contract, only P Buck and Jack Williams have any skills in coverage.  King is a special teamer and Witherspoon returns kicks.  This leaves a tremendous void when you consider that Buchanon is not a primary corner and had trouble holding down the #2 spot this year.  The scouting staff has to do their homework and find two players in this draft that can fill roles on the corners.  After 2010 only Jack Williams is under contract.

Special Teams: Needs 0
All specialists are under long term contracts.

I have wrote about this in some other threads but it is important.  Because of the vote to end the current CBA there is an uncapped 2010 season.  Basically the league salary cap and salary floor are eliminated next year only.  These will be reinstated for 2011 in a new agreement.

This really effects free agency the most because of the new rules that apply unique to the uncapped season. First and most importantly players must accrue six seasons, not four to become unrestricted.  This means all these players drafted in 2006 or more recent are restricted free agents.  Most of the websites that provide free agent lists are using the old CBA rules.  Here is a link to a list under the uncapped rules.

http://www.nfl.com/news/story?id=09000d5d81423860&template=with-video-with-comments&confirm=true

The second part is an extra transition tag.  Teams may now "Franchise" a player and "Transition" another or "Transition" two of them.  This will seal up most of the elite players, for at least another year.

The final part is the Final 8 plan as described by CBS Sports - "During the uncapped year, the eight clubs that make the divisional playoffs in the previous season have additional restrictions that limit their ability to sign Unrestricted Free Agents from other clubs. In general, the four clubs participating in the Championship Games are limited in the number of free agents that they may sign; the limit is determined by the number of their own free agents signing with other clubs. For the four clubs that lose in the Divisional playoffs, in addition to having the ability to sign free agents based on the number of their own free agents signing with other clubs, they may also sign players based on specific financial parameters."

Basically what I take out of this is that free agency will be a desert this year.  Teams have no reason not to tender a young player with talent so they can have at least compensation in return for the player.  If you are a fan wanting to add a Lendale White or Ray Edwards, be prepared to give up picks to do so.  From a Lions perspective, another kick in the balls, we have no players drafted in that era to worry about except Bullocks.  One trend I could see is that overpaid players with huge signing bonus' could be cut to free up space in 2011.  Guys like Bulger, Delhomme or Jamarcass should be getting their resumes ready.   Some decent players like Reggie Bush or Glenn Dorsey could be among them though.