NFL analyst says the Michigan Panthers have the next Jake Bates, and we think the Lions should be interested

Rowe is absolutely right because when you watch Perkins, you see a guy who is clearly too good not to get another chance at the NFL, and it's because he can do stuff like this. 

The Lions might be the best place for that. Perkins does have some NFL experience, and part of that experience is actually backing up Jared Goff. The Rams signed him as an undrafted rookie out of Virginia after the 2020 NFL Draft. He was on the practice squad for Goff's final year in Los Angeles. 

Then he backed up Matthew Stafford in 2021 and got a Super Bowl ring for it. In 2022, he got a chance to play his one and only regular-season NFL game. He started for the Rams in a Week 12 game against the Chiefs and threw for 100 yards, a touchdown, and two picks.

For some reason, no team brought him on for the 2023 season, and then he signed with the Panthers of the UFL in 2024 and got hurt and missed the season.

This season, the Panthers decided to give him the start over Danny Etling, and he has taken the league by storm and put himself in a position where there's MVP talk surrounding him right now. He's completing 69% of his passes and has thrown for 1,342 yards, nine touchdowns, and two picks. He's also run for 269 yards and five touchdowns. 

He has been dealing with an injury in the last couple of weeks, and the Panthers have sat him out of caution since they already clinched a playoff berth. He is expected to be back for the playoffs in June.

So why would the Lions be a good spot for him to work this summer? It's because he might actually have a chance in Detroit. 

Hear me out, Hendon Hooker has struggled for Detroit. He has some timing issues to work out, where he's either holding on to the ball too long and taking a sack, or he's getting rid of it too fast and throwing picks. The Lions showed last year that they didn't have a lot of faith in him when they signed Teddy Bridgewater out of retirement to play over him. 

Kyle Allen has been a starter in the NFL and he has a chance to win the QB2 spot just like Hooker does, but it's not lost on anyone that last year he was buried under Russell Wilson and Justin Fields and never got a shot despite both those guys not working out so well. 

Perkins could come in and compete and have a chance to nail down a roster spot. He's going to be on NFL radars this summer. Might as well stay right here in town.