According to Mlive.com, the Lions have reached an agreement with former Steelers’ linebacker Larry Foote, who will play middle linebacker for them next season.

Foote, who turns 29 next month, is hoping to eventually sign a more lucrative contract after this season turned down the two-year offer.

Foote, a seven-year veteran, was a full-time starter for the Steelers for the last five seasons and didn’t miss a game during that span. Foote’s tackling numbers have declined in each of the last four years, from a high of 102 in 2005 to 63 last season.

Now we know why Lions’ GM Martin Mayhew passed on a middle linebacker with the No. 20 and No. 33 picks in last month’s draft when USC’s Rey Maualuga and Ohio State’s James Laurinaitis were still on the board. Mayhew knew that the Steelers would eventually release Foote and that he wanted to come to Detroit, which is where he grew up and attended high school.

Mayhew has done a nice job in his first offseason with the Lions. He added talent via the draft in quarterback Matthew Stafford, tight end Brandon Pettigrew and safety Louis Delmas and he has signed quality role players in free agents Grady Jackson, Philip Buchanon and now Foote. Whether or not all of his moves will pan out is still up in the air, but Lion fans have to at least be pleased that Mayhew has a plan and is executing it.

Pete Prisco of CBSSports.com ranks his top 50 NFL free agents and to no one’s surprise, he has Titans’ defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth ranked No. 1. No other free agent should be ranked ahead of Haynesworth given his age and talent. But anyone that thinks he isn’t a major risk is fooling themselves.

Haynesworth wants $72 million, as in, seventy-two million dollars. He would be the highest paid defender in the league and while his talent is unquestioned, he’s coming off a career season in a contract year. Would anyone be surprised if he caught Tommie Harris’s disease and his production drops off after he gets paid? I wouldn’t, and I firmly believe that if he winds up signing with the Redskins, there’s a great chance he’ll be a major disappointment considering Washington is the black hole for defensive linemen.

I think Prisco hit the nail on the head by ranking Ravens’ center Jason Brown No. 2. Even though guys like Matt Birk (Vikings) and Jeff Saturday (Colts) will be available, Brown is the best center on the market and can help anchor the interior of somebody’s line for years to come.

Where Prisco loses me is his ranking of the cornerbacks.

5. Bryant McFadden, CB, Pittsburgh Steelers: He’s a solid starter and teams are always looking for corners. Plus, his best football will come in the next three years.

8. DeAngelo Hall, CB, Washington Redskins: He’s not nearly as good as he thinks, but he played well for the Redskins after the Raiders let him go last season. But how does he play after he gets paid? He had to play well in Washington to get another big contract.

12. Philip Buchanon, CB, Tampa Bay Buccaneers: He started last year for the Bucs, and at 28 he still has some good football left. He’s another player who is a perfect second corner.

31. Chris McAlister, CB, Baltimore Ravens: He’s getting up in years and has injury issues last season, but he can still help a team for a year or two. When he’s healthy, he can still cover well.

33. Ronald Bartell, CB, St. Louis Rams: He’s a young player who emerged last year in his first as a starter. He’s the kind of rising player teams need to sign.

McFadden is a good young player, but I don’t know if he should be listed in the top 5 of available free agents. Hall proved last year in Oakland that he’s an overrated and overpaid, while Buchanon is a classic underachiever and McAlister (as Prisco noted) is getting up there in years.

But how is Bartell the fifth best cornerback on the market? There’s no way. He’ll be overpaid (he’s likely to command $40 million over five years), but he offers more upside than every free agent Prisco rated higher outside of maybe McFadden.