2025 NFL Offseason Primer: Detroit Lions

Detroit Lions

Projected Cap Space: $49.2 million

Draft Picks: 7

• 1st (No. 28)
• 2nd (No. 60)
• 3rd (No. 101, comp)
• 4th (No. 132, PHI)
• 6th (No. 197, TB)
• 7th (No. 230, DAL)
• 7th (No. 246)

Notable Free Agents: 

• G Kevin Zeitler
• CB Carlton Davis
• DT Levi Onwuzurike
• DE Marcus Davenport
• LB Derrick Barnes
• DE John Cominsky
• G Kayode Awosika (RFA)
• WR Tim Patrick
• CB Emmanuel Moseley
• OT Dan Skipper
• CB Kindle Vildor
• CB Ifeatu Melifonwu
• RB Craig Reynolds (RFA)

Top Three Needs

1 – Edge Rusher

This was one of the positions hit the hardest by injuries for the Lions last year and it started in camp when Cominsky went down for the season. Davenport was one of Detroit’s more significant free agent signings to man the spot across from star DE Aidan Hutchinson, but he lasted just two games before going down and wasn’t able to return. Hutchinson had 7.5 sacks in just five games and was an early candidate for Defensive Player of the Year before breaking his leg and missing the rest of the year. 

The good news for the Lions is Hutchinson should be back with no lingering effects from his injury and his presence alone should put the Lions in the top half of the league in terms of strength on the edge. Now they just have to keep building the room around him. They traded for veteran DE Za’Darius Smith at the deadline last year but he’s due around $11 million in cash for 2025 and it’s not clear if the Lions value him at that sum. Davenport and Cominsky could be back but only in depth roles. Cominsky isn’t a full-time starter, and Davenport hasn’t shown he can stay healthy. 

While the Lions are in a great position in terms of cap space this year, ranking ninth in projected effective cap space, that drops all the way to 29th in 2026 as several big deals hit the books. That will color how the Lions proceed this offseason and how big of a splash they are willing to make at edge rusher, especially with a massive deal for Hutchinson coming down the pipe in the next two years. 

2 – Guard

A key part of the Lions’ success on offense the past three years has been the offensive line and ensuring that position group remains strong. Detroit landed Zeitler on a one-year deal to replace departed G Jonah Jackson last year and might have upgraded. However, Zeitler turns 35 in March, so there are longevity concerns as well as contractual ones to sort through.

Veteran G Graham Glasgow is under contract on the other side but he turns 33 this offseason. Detroit has a couple of young linemen it’s been developing like Awosika and 2024 sixth-rounder Christian Mahogany, but more attention to the pipeline at minimum is needed if Zeitler stays, and a new starter if he walks. Some teams treat guard like a throwaway position. Detroit doesn’t feel like one of them.  

3 – Cornerback

Injuries hit the Lions hard at cornerback as well, particularly during their abbreviated playoff run. Those overshadowed some of the real progress Detroit made in shoring up what had been a weak spot for a few seasons, and there are some pieces to build on going into 2025 with first-round CB Terrion Arnold, veteran Amik Robertson and potentially second-round CB Ennis Rakestraw. 

Still, the Lions have a number of pending free agents, including the veteran Davis who started most of the season. Detroit needs to replace him in the starting lineup, and Rakestraw didn’t play enough to inspire confidence that he’s ready to step in seamlessly. Insurance is needed, and with all the pending free agents at corner, the Lions need to rebuild the back end of their depth chart. This past year showed how important those players can be. 

One Big Question

How does the brain drain impact the Lions?

The Lions kept OC Ben Johnson and DC Aaron Glenn longer than they probably had a right to, and those two have been a huge part of the team’s success over the past few years. But like all great teams, the brain drain is inevitable, and now the next test for HC Dan Campbell will be how his hires to replace them fare.

Hiring assistants is a skill that differentiates good coaches from great coaches. Bill Belichick accelerated the end of his time with the Patriots by inexplicably putting Matt Patricia and Joe Judge in charge of the offense. Eagles HC Nick Sirianni nearly lost his job in 2023 after hiring OC Brian Johnson and DC Sean Desai when Philadelphia lost both Shane Steichen and Jonathan Gannon to head coaching jobs, just like Detroit this offseason.  

Campbell isn’t completely new to replacing coordinators, as he demoted his first play-caller, Anthony Lynn, during his first year in Detroit and promoted Johnson to the role the following year. This time, he stayed in-house again for one hire, promoting former LB coach Kelvin Sheppard to replace Glenn, but passed over passing game coordinator Tanner Engstrand to hire veteran NFL coach John Morton as play-caller. 

Engstrand was part of Campbell’s initial staff and had risen from low-level assistant to TE coach to his current role. He was widely viewed as the heir to Johnson by many outside the building, but Campbell apparently thought he needed someone else. Engstrand will go to the Jets with Glenn as his play-caller, while the last time Morton called plays was actually with the Jets in 2017.

The results on paper weren’t spectacular — 28th in yards, 24th in scoring for a team that finished 5-11 — but Morton did get a career-high 18 touchdown passes out of a 38-year-old Josh McCown, so there could be more than meets the eye here. Morton has deep roots in the same coaching tree as Campbell and overlapped with him for a year in New Orleans under then-HC Sean Payton. He was also a senior assistant on Campbell’s staff in 2022, so he should be able to take over Johnson’s system. 

With the vast majority of the team set to come back in 2025, the only real questions about the Lions are whether the coaches they hired are capable replacements for the stellar ones that left. If they are and the Lions get better injury luck than last year, then the Super Bowl window for the team should remain wide open for another year.