While we won’t truly know the quality of this offseason until we see the team on the field, it’s been pretty clear, given the circumstances, that the Lions have done a solid job at building this team back up. This is good news, especially coming off of a disappointing 9-8 season without a playoff appearance despite the incredible amount of talent on the roster. Obviously, there will always be some questions about certain moves and people won’t like everything they’ve done, but at this point we’ve seen what Brad Holmes likes to do, and we’ve seen it work a lot better than many other teams.

Trades

  • Lions Trade – RB David Montgomery
  • Lions Receive – IOL Juice Scruggs, 2026 4th-round pick, 2027 7th-round pick

While the Lions still have much more time to make trades before the season starts this was one we saw coming a while before it actually happened. While it may be sad for the fans to see Montgomery go, overall it was the best solution for both sides. The Lions desperately needed to save money and with Gibbs due for an upcoming payday, the team simply couldn’t afford to pay $8 million for a backup running back, regardless of his production. On the other hand, Montgomery now gets to spread his wings and hopefully take over as the true starter in Houston, who have struggled for years to find consistency at the position. Detroit also receive decent value in the trade with Juice Scruggs, a younger guy with decent upside, offering solid depth for the team alongside a 2026 4th round pick and a 2027 7th round pick.

Cuts

OT Taylor Decker (saves $11.6 million)

This one is unfortunately another sore spot for Lions fans, as Taylor Decker was the team’s most tenured player, having been with the Lions since being drafted in the 1st round in 2016. The reality is that Decker refused to take the pay cut that the Lions wanted, allowing them flexibility to make more moves. Eventually, he decided to request his release rather than taking less money. While Decker did provide immense value to the team over the last 10 seasons, he definitely is past his peak and the Lions will be able to use the money they saved by releasing him while he still remains a free agent.

IOL Graham Glasgow (saves over $5.5 million)

Graham Glasgow is more of a mixed bag. He has been with the Lions twice now and while he was once a solid player, his 2025 season, after moving to center, was lackluster at best. This was a move the team had to make, given his fairly high salary and the fact that they were planning to replace him anyway.

EDGE Josh Paschal (saves $1.66 million)

Josh Paschal is just an example of not being able to keep up with the team. The 2022 2nd round pick had solid potential coming out of Kentucky but injury issues and other players blocked him from developing into a starter, getting to the point where the team felt the money could be better spent elsewhere.

Free Agency

New Signings

  • C Cade Mays – 3 years, $25 million
  • OT Larry Borom – 1 year, $5 million
  • EDGE DJ Wonnum – 1 year, $3 million
  • DB Christian Izien – 1 year, $2 million
  • RB Isiah Pacheco – 1 year, $1.81 million
  • QB Teddy Bridgewater – 1 year, $1.8 million
  • S Chuck Clark – 1 year, $1.5 million
  • WR Greg Dortch – 1 year, $1.4 million
  • LB Damone Clark – 1 year, $1.4 million
  • DB Roger McCreary – 1 year, $1.4 million
  • TE Tyler Conklin – 1 year, $1.3 million
  • G Ben Bartch – 1 year, $1.2 million
  • DT Jay Tufele – 1 year, $1.2 million
  • LB Joe Bachie – 1 year, $1.2 million
  • DB Payton Turner – 1 year, $1.145 million

It is evident that, despite maybe Cade Mays, the Lions didn’t truly make a splash in free agency. They had very little money, but they got exactly what they needed before fulfilling the rest in the draft. They filled a few major holes and brought in veterans to fill out their depth in the case of almost inevitable injuries. In this list there are only a few guys who fill major weak points on the team. Cade Mays is obviously one, as the team hopes he can continue being a top tier center to help bring the offensive line back to the heights it reached a few years ago. Isiah Pacheco is another one of those players. He has to essentially fill the David Montgomery role, but if anyone can do it it’s him. He’s a pure bruiser type back and should be strong between the tackles when Jahmyr Gibbs needs a break. The last notable piece is Greg Dortch but not necessarily at receiver. He may receive a few reps here and there but the team really needs someone to fill the spot of former Lion and now Bear, Kalif Raymond, on special teams as a returner. Tom Kennedy has done a decent job but Dortch can slot in, especially with the recently added changes to kickoffs where two returners are utilized.

Re-signings

  • CB Rock Ya-Sin – 1-year, $3.2 million
  • LB Malcolm Rodriguez – 1-year, $2.75 million
  • DB Avonte Maddox – 1-year, $1.5 million
  • LB Trevor Nowaske – 1-year, $1.35 million
  • WR Tom Kennedy – 1-year, $1.235 million
  • DT Myles Adams – 1-year, $1.145 million
  • RB Jacob Saylors – ERFA, signed tender
  • IOL Michael Niese – ERFA, signed tender
  • CB Nick Whiteside – ERFA, signed tender
  • K Jake Bates – ERFA, tendered

The re-signings were also not very big, as most of the long term deals the Lions signed are done either towards the end of the offseason or the beginning of the season. However, there were still some crucial signings they made. Rock Ya-Sin, Nick Whiteside, and Avonte Maddox proved to be valuable assets after exceeding expectations in the midst of the many injuries in the secondary last season. Tom Kennedy, despite having been on the team for a long time with few reps, showed great potential as both a receiver and special teamer. There is also fan favorite kicker, Jake Bates, who has shown to be relatively consistent and has been tendered, meaning all he has to do is sign on like the other three and he will return again to a minimum salary of $1.075 million.

The Draft

The way the Lions draft went, it essentially was split into two categories. Their first two selections, who will both likely start and are immediate needs, and the later guys, who are more depth and special teams options looking to get more reps further down the line.

Top Picks

  • Round 1, Pick 17 – OT Blake Miller, Clemson
  • Round 2, Pick 44 – EDGE Derrick Moore, Michigan

These first two picks were both excellent by Brad Holmes. These two picks address the two positions that were the biggest needs on the roster, and he brought in two players with strong ceilings that will also be able to produce right away at an NFL level. Blake Miller is an absolute monster, with many people worried about what would follow the release of Taylor Decker and the news that Penei Sewell would be moved to left tackle. Miller will now be the perfect fit to guard that right side for Jared Goff and will hopefully be able to develop into one of the better tackles in the league alongside his teammate Sewell. Derrick Moore is also a great selection. The Lions knew they needed to fill the edge position across from Aidan Hutchinson, after the departure of a serviceable player in Al-Quadin Muhammad. Moore is a great true pass rusher, something the team needed to improve on last year and after 4 solid years in college, Moore can prove his worth as a 2nd round selection and create a dominant Michigan pass rush duo alongside Hutchinson.

Later Picks

  • Round 4, Pick 118 – LB Jimmy Rolder, Michigan
  • Round 5, Pick 157 – CB Keith Abney II, Arizona State
  • Round 5, Pick 168 – WR Kendrick Law, Kentucky
  • Round 6, Pick 205 – DT Skyler Gill-Howard, Texas Tech
  • Round 7, Pick 222 – DL Tyre West, Tennessee

As previously stated, all of these lower picks were clearly more focused on two things. Firstly, depth considering how many backups the Lions had to rely on last year due to injuries.The team simply needs more options on defense and all of these players showed an ability to play at a high level if needed, in college. Mainly with Rolder and the two defensive tackles, it’s about filling in for the lack of depth at linebacker after losing Alex Anzalone and at DT after losing DJ Reader. The other two players are more interesting beyond that though. While both of them are depth pieces, Abney is a very skilled player who was initially projected to be a day 2 pick. The main reason he didn’t go higher is that at just 5 feet 9 inches, he is quite small to play boundary corner at the next level and his penalty count was fairly high. Regardless, he was still incredibly dominant at Arizona State and plays far above his size, to the point he could easily become a starter by midway through his rookie season. Kendrick Law on the other hand is an extremely fun player. He’s built for running after the catch and based on previous drafts, it won’t be shocking if Dan Campbell tries to get him involved early, as he did with players like Amon-Ra St. Brown, Isaac TeSlaa, and Sione Vaki.

2026 Outlook

The team has made some great strides to improve and while it feels like we say this every year, if there is a Super Bowl run in the making for this team, this year would be by far the easiest. They have one of the easiest schedules in the league after they finished last in the NFC North in 2025 despite going 9-8. With this easy of a schedule, don’t be shocked if we see another 15 win season out of Detroit. Obviously, they have one of the harder divisions in football and both the Patriots and Bills in the AFC East are no slight. However, outside of that there is little challenge for the Lions. Even if they fall short and lose most of the close ones, we’d still likely be looking at an 11 or 12 win team, strong enough to make the playoffs. That being said, look for this team to make some serious moves this upcoming season. Regardless of the talent on the roster their Super Bowl window is closing. The team is running low on money and with Jared Goff turning 32 this October they will be wanting to push as far as they can in the next season or two. While they have many younger players who are signed to the team long term, much of their success is built on the overall team and the Lions are paying 5 players most of their overall cap space. With Aidan Hutchinson’s contract kicking in soon, they may be unable to bring back all the players they want like Jack Campbell, Brian Branch, and potentially Jahmyr Gibbs, making 2026 and 2027 make or break for Detroit.