When Rashean Mathis retired this offseason, it left a veteran void in the Detroit Lions cornerback room. Mathis was a terrific resource for young starting cornerbacks Darius Slay, Nevin Lawson and Quandre Diggs.
The Lions went looking for veteran help in the secondary via free agency this offseason, and signed Darrin Walls in March.
Walls, 28, played in 13 games as a backup with the New York Jets last year, and provides both depth and insurance for starters Slay and Lawson on the outside.
“I think Nevin and Slay, they’re physically gifted and they have a bunch of tools I feel like Shean (Mathis) helped them a lot with,” Walls said.