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Offseason In Review: Detroit Lions

August 25th, 2024 at 11:13pm CST by Sam Robinson

All due respect to the Barry Sanders– and Erik Kramer-driven 1991 season, last year brought the Lions’ most successful slate since their 1957 championship campaign. Narrowly missing their first Super Bowl berth, the Lions still moved their rebuild — one that featured a 3-13-1 team in 2021 — to the NFC championship game. The Brad Holmes–Dan Campbell operation has changed the franchise’s trajectory, making good on the hype the 2023 offseason brought.

As Detroit attempts to kick down the door and book its first Super Bowl berth, its payroll changed significantly. The equation now includes big-ticket contracts for Jared Goff and other cornerstones, but last year’s draft class infused the roster with impact talent that will be tied to rookie deals for a bit. Campbell’s team will try to capitalize on the combination of rookie-contract talent and lower Year 1 cap numbers for its recently extended stars.

Extensions and restructures:

Goff became the first domino to fall this offseason on the quarterback market, and the former No. 1 overall pick is now the oldest member of the $50MM-per-year club. The only $50MM-per-year passer north of 27, Goff (30 in October) has completed a remarkable turnaround. The Lions needed to take on Goff’s 2019 Rams extension to collect the two-first-rounder package from the Rams for Matthew Stafford. Rather than Goff being the bridge QB most assumed, the five-year Los Angeles starter turned his career around in Detroit. The Lions have protected Goff with a top-flight offensive line, and Amon-Ra St. Brown has become a No. 1 target. This has stabilized the career of a passer who did not fare well in his first Lions season.

Holmes continually resisted labeling Goff a stopgap, and the Lions then benefited from what became a team-friendly contract over the past two seasons. Goff played well on his $33.5MM-per-year Rams deal, ranking fifth and 11th in QBR during Ben Johnson‘s play-calling years. The Lions passed on the 2021 first-round QB contingent, instead taking Penei Sewell to protect Goff in Round 1. A maligned 2022 first-round QB crop followed, and the Lions took Aidan Hutchinson and Jameson Williams. After Goff’s promising 2022, Detroit continued to build around him rather than take the traditional route and find a younger arm at a rookie-scale rate.

These decisions meant Goff would need to be extended, with Holmes indicating the quarterback he once helped draft as the Rams’ college scouting director had earned a new deal. The Lions made Goff the NFL’s second-highest-paid player (for a few weeks, at least), striking first to help set the market for Trevor Lawrence, Tua Tagovailoa and Jordan Love. Of the eight $50MM-AAV clubbers, only Goff is on a third contract. That separates his situation from the pack, but the Lions continue to show belief in a player Sean McVay discarded.

Beating Stafford’s Rams in a wild-card game, edging the Buccaneers and then pushing the 49ers to the brink, Goff secured quality terms on his deal — even if Lawrence and Love passed him in AAV months later. The popular rolling guarantee structure is in place here, with Goff set to see $20MM of his $35MM 2026 base salary guarantee in 2025. More than a third of Goff’s 2027 base salary ($50MM) will lock in a year early as well. The Lions are betting big on a player who arrived as a depressed asset, but they went to work on ensuring their other early-2020s pillars would remain in the fold as well.

Perhaps best known for the five-QB first round that failed to produce franchise options, the 2021 draft nevertheless equipped the Lions with offensive cornerstones. After the Bengals chose Ja’Marr Chase over Sewell, the Lions pounced. Both players have become standouts. While Cincinnati is angling to pay Chase in 2025, Detroit stepped up early on a market-changing deal.

Sewell not only became the NFL’s highest-paid right tackle, he was the league’s top tackle earner at the time of signing. Although his contract changed the LT market — as the Buccaneers have since given Tristan Wirfs the highest tackle AAV — Sewell’s contract still checks in on its own level among RTs. His $28MM per-year number leads the RT pack by $8MM.

The Lions stationed Sewell at left tackle for much of 2021, keeping him at his college position, but that only occurred because of a Taylor Decker injury. Over the past two years, the Oregon product has become a dominant right tackle. Sewell’s RT move coincided with Goff’s late-20s rebound, as the Lions formed an elite O-line. Pro Football Focus ranked Detoit’s O-line eighth in 2022 and second last season. Sewell ranked sixth in pass block win rate last season and has made back-to-back Pro Bowls — not the easiest feat for a right tackle — along with earning a 2023 All-Pro first-team nod.

This should be a sound Lions move, as Sewell will not turn 24 until October. This should ensure his prime occurs in the Motor City. Sewell agreeing to a four-year contract also separates him from recently extended tackles Wirfs, Christian Darrisaw and Andrew Thomas. The Lions RT will likely be able to come back to the table during his late 20s, presenting the opportunity for two monster paydays.

St. Brown will not turn 25 until October. At the rate receivers are being paid, his third contract will probably be north of $40MM per year when the time arrives. The Lions expected to have a franchise tackle when they chose Sewell; St. Brown provided a surprise.

Arriving when the Lions were retooling at the position, the former fourth-round pick showed immediate promise and became entrenched in Detroit’s starting lineup during the team’s 2021 restart. Since his 912-yard rookie year, the tenacious wideout climbed to 1,161 and 1,514. The latter showing made St. Brown the Lions’ first All-Pro wideout since Calvin Johnson in 2013.

Giving midlevel deals to the likes of Golden Tate and Marvin Jones in between Megatron’s extension and the St. Brown deal, the Lions bided their time before reinvesting. They nabbed St. Brown, who has carried a perpetual chip on his shoulder due to being chosen 112th overall, and made him the NFL’s highest-paid receiver — at the time. St. Brown was linked to a $26-$28MM-per-year number during negotiations, but his camp inflated that figure by the time of signing.

St. Brown joined Tyreek Hill as the league’s only $30MM-per-year WRs, driving both A.J. Brown and Justin Jefferson to seek higher-end deals and affecting the markets of CeeDee Lamb, Brandon Aiyuk and Ja’Marr Chase. St. Brown’s deal includes $77MM guaranteed in total, with the USC alum’s $27.5MM 2026 base salary locking in by March 2025. After St. Brown played through a significant oblique injury last season, the Lions will hope he has another gear to hit during the mid-’20s.

Holmes still found room to circle back to Decker, doing so despite the dependable left tackle arriving as a Bob Quinn pick and going into his age-30 season. Decker has started since his 2016 rookie year and turns 30 just this week. This marks the former first-rounder’s third NFL contract. Decker’s $20MM-per-year deal does not have rolling guarantee mechanisms like Goff, Sewell and St. Brown’s do, but he did well to lock in nearly $32MM at signing on a three-year accord.

This season, Decker will move into third — behind only Jeff Backus and Lomas Brown — for starts by a Lions tackle. After toiling for some middling Lions teams late in Jim Caldwell‘s tenure and enduring another rebuild after the Matt Patricia hire bombed, Decker reemerged on a playoff squad. The Ohio State alum has not secured any Pro Bowl nods, but pass block win rate rated him seventh among all tackles in 2023. PFF also assigned Decker a ninth-place finish at the position last season. The Lions have their top-tier tackle pair signed through 2027.

The prices are rising here, but Detroit backloading the extensions keeps costs manageable for 2024. Goff’s cap number is only $27.2MM, St. Brown’s $4.86MM. Sewell and Decker respectively count just $8.2MM and $10.9MM.

Trades:

The Lions’ cornerback situation would soon become more complicated, but they saw it prove unreliable on the field in 2023. (Aaron Glenn‘s pass defense ranked 27th.) This led to Detroit starting the league year by obtaining Davis, whose three-year, $45MM Tampa Bay contract expires after this season. Despite Davis being in a walk year, the Lions gave up a third-rounder in a pick-swap deal. Making corner a priority, the Lions subsequently paired the former Super Bowl starter with a host of new names.

Detroit also looked into L’Jarius Sneed and Marshon Lattimore, but Davis’ top complementary pieces soon came via the draft. A 2018 second-round pick, Davis has 75 starts on his resume and will not turn 28 until New Year’s Eve. He hit free agency as one of the top defenders available in 2022, but the Bucs paid Jamel Dean a year later.

Davis intercepted four passes during Tampa Bay’s Super Bowl-winning season and collectively held QBs to sub-58% completion rates (as the closest defender) in 2021 and ’22. Last season, that number climbed to 61.4%; PFF graded Davis 68th among CBs. The Lions will still bet on the defender excelling in Glenn’s scheme, and they hold exclusive negotiating rights with him until March.

Free agency additions:

Jonah Jackson served as the Lions’ second-longest-tenured O-line starter, holding that role from 2020-23, but proved too expensive — as could be expected, given the guard market and the Lions’ offseason extension plans — to retain. Enter Zeitler, who continues to excel for northern-based teams. The former Bengals first-rounder has remained a reliable piece for the Browns (2017-18), Giants (2019-20) and Ravens (2021-23). Zeitler is going into his age-34 season, but he snared his first Pro Bowl honor in 2023.

This is a temporary solution, but the Lions nabbing one of this era’s most seasoned guards for $6MM probably represents a win — especially given what proven guards cost this offseason. Zeitler discussed terms with the Ravens, who had signed him following a Giants cut in 2021, but Baltimore opted to cut costs up front. PFF graded Zeitler as a top-15 guard in each of his three Ravens seasons, giving the Lions optimism he will be able to hold form into his mid-30s. Zeitler’s 181 career starts are also in the top 20 all time among guards, and the new Detroit RG leads the pack among active guards.

One of the league’s better run stuffers for years, Reader recently recovered from a second quad tear. The former Texans and Bengals nose tackle tore both quads during his Cincinnati tenure. In between, he anchored Cincinnati’s interior during back-to-back AFC championship game seasons. PFF rated Super Bowl LVI starter rated as a top-11 D-tackle in each of the past three seasons, and PFR’s top 50 free agent list placed him 25th.

Reader just came off the active/PUP list Sunday. Even if the Lions ease their most expensive 2024 free agency acquisition into action, his addition will bolster a defense that already ranked second against the run. A Reader-Alim McNeill tandem promises to be formidable this season.

Counting on Davenport as anything more than a rotational player is risky. The former Saints first-rounder, who will indeed rejoin Glenn and Campbell, did not make it past mid-October last season with Minnesota and managed only a half-sack in 15 2022 games with New Orleans. Davenport does have nine- and six-sack seasons on his resume, registering three forced fumbles in those respective slates (2019, ’21).

Glenn and Campbell were in New Orleans for the inconsistent D-end’s 2019 showing, and while the team rosters James Houston and slow-to-develop second-rounder Josh Paschal, it did not draft any edges. Davenport, 28 next month, may well be counted on as Aidan Hutchinson‘s wingman.

The Lions’ Bates addition became more important after Michael Badgley‘s IR placement; a hamstring injury sidelined the veteran for the season. Bates, however, landed on the Lions’ radar during his UFL season. The Michigan Panthers kicker drilled three 60-plus-yard field goals and drew interest from the Commanders, Packers and Ravens as well.

Detroit changed kickers late in the season, moving from Riley Patterson to Badgley, though Campbell famously left the latter on the bench when attempting crucial fourth-down conversions in the NFC title game. Bates profiles as a boom-or-bust option. He went 6-for-7 on field goals in Lions preseason games but missed seven tries during the UFL campaign.

Re-signings:

Glasgow completed quite the rebound effort back in Detroit. The former 2016 Lions third-rounder could not live up to his four-year, $40MM Broncos deal, being cut soon after Sean Payton‘s arrival. He landed back with the Lions on a one-year, $2.75MM pact. With Halapoulivaati Vaitai unable to stay healthy once again, Glasgow stepped in and contributed on a top-flight O-line. On the strength of his run blocking, PFF slotted the Michigan alum as a top-10 guard. After seeing Quinn Meinerz usurp him in Denver, Glasgow did well to land another deal ahead of his age-32 season. The Lions will have three 30-somethings up front now, with ninth- and 13th-year vets manning the guard posts.

Sudfeld’s most notable NFL act remains his strange insertion into a Week 17 game that prompted tanking allegations. The player Doug Pederson used after controversially benching Jalen Hurts in a nationally televised game that decided the 2020 NFC East title, Sudfeld has nevertheless managed to bounce back from that and his season-ending injury last summer. Now in Year 3 as a Ben Johnson QB, Sudfeld spent last season on IR.

Despite this and the Lions using a third-round pick on Hendon Hooker, the veteran leads the race for Detroit’s QB2 gig. Hooker, whose November 2022 ACL tear affected his draft stock, will not be sent to waivers. But a developmental season — after 2023 became a rehab year — may be on tap. The Lions would stand to be vulnerable if Goff went down, but the ninth-year passer has been quite durable as a pro (four injury-driven absences).

In addition to Badgley, Moseley sustained a significant injury already. After suffering ACL tears in 2022 and ’23, the former 49ers starter sustained a torn pec early in camp. Robertson’s guarantee figured to give him the edge on Moseley, with the ex-Raider now being needed more. Reeves-Maybin’s off-field job is now more important than his role as a Lions backup/special-teamer; he is now the NFLPA president.

Notable losses:

The Lions expressed some hope they could retain Jackson days before free agency but balked upon learning where his market was. The Rams came in with a three-year, $51MM deal to pair him with fellow high-priced guard Kevin Dotson. Following Glasgow as a third-round success story, Jackson started every game he played as a Lion. No substantial extension talks transpired in 2023, despite Jackson expressing hope he would remain in Detroit. Higher Lions priorities appear to have impacted that aim. Jackson’s exit will make guard a long-term need, but for now, vets have it covered.

Sutton did not impress after signing a three-year, $33MM deal; PFF rated the six-year Steeler outside the top 100 at corner in 2023. As the Lions made in-season tweaks at the position, they kept trotting out Sutton. He was set to return, but a domestic violence arrest — which featured a multi-week period in which police were searching for the veteran cornerback — led him off the roster. The Lions will take on $4.2MM in dead money this year and $6.5MM in 2025. Sutton ended up back with the Steelers but received an eight-game suspension.

Largely due to injury, Gardner-Johnson also did not make much of an impact as a Lion. The would-be safety starter sustained a torn pec in Week 2, and although he made it back by Week 18, he did not return as a starter. The Lions let Gardner-Johnson walk in free agency, where the Eagles — who had aimed to keep him in 2023 — awaited. CJGJ’s injury-shortened season still resulted in a raise from his one-year, $6.5MM pact; the Eagles gave him a three-year, $27MM deal with $10MM guaranteed.

The Lions made an offer to retain Reynolds, who has spent all but a few games in his career as a Goff auxiliary target. The Broncos came in with a better one, however, landing the 29-year-old weapon on a two-year, $9MM deal. The Lions passed on a notable Reynolds proposal in an effort to clear the runway for Jameson Williams. Detroit’s offer was indicative of the WR3 role it had in mind for Reynolds, with Williams — who has seen an ACL tear and a gambling suspension hold him back for most of his career — ticketed for more work. Reynolds’ NFC title game struggles aside, he finished with 608 receiving yards (15.2 per catch) and five TDs last year.

The team did not do much to replace Reynolds, as Kalif Raymond‘s two-year, $10.5MM deal from 2023 gives him a runway toward this gig. This looms as one of the few questions on this well-assembled roster, but Raymond does have three straight seasons of at least 475 yards — including a 616-yard 2022 season as Williams rehabbed his college knee injury — as evidence he could be up to the challenge.

Draft:

Sutton’s release made cornerback the Lions’ semi-obvious draft direction, and the team met with a few before making its move. The Lions moved up five spots for Arnold, viewing the Packers as a threat to nab the former Nick Saban pupil. Detroit traded one spot in front of Green Bay, giving up a third-round pick (No. 73) to make the jump. Arnold is ticketed for a starting role immediately; the Lions will hope this CB investment works out better than Quinn’s first-round finale (Jeff Okudah).

Arnold leapfrogged teammate Kool-Aid McKinstry, who also visited the Lions, in pre-draft value during his final season and through the draft’s run-up. Daniel Jeremiah’s NFL.com big board slotted Arnold ninth overall; the Lions, who went against the grain regarding positional value in last year’s first round, drafted for need but may have landed their target at a discount. A well-rounded player, Arnold earned first-team All-American honors last season.

Arnold rejoins Alabama teammate Brian Branch, who is set to slide to safety after spending his rookie season in the slot. The Lions have not featured a building-block player at corner since Darius Slay, and Patricia ended that partnership early. As costs rise at other positions on Detroit’s depth chart, Arnold and Branch being on rookie deals for a while will be important.

The Lions did not stop there. Davis is in a contract year, and despite having re-signed Moseley and Vildor, the team doubled up with Rakestraw. The Missouri product might be a promising rookie-year backup who could see time in the slot, as he was strong against the run in the SEC. Branch’s safety shift opens the door for Rakestraw and/or Amik Robertson inside. Jeremiah’s No. 28 overall prospect, Rakestraw should both have a key role in 2024 and be given a clear path to a 2025 starter gig. Detroit has some long-term options in place after its 2023 plan proved faulty.

Other:

The Lions became the first team to extend a GM or HC hired in 2021 — with good reason. Given a six-year contract to shepherd the latest Lions rebuild, Campbell has become one of the NFL’s most popular coaches. The former tight end has elevated the Lions to rare territory, turning them from a perennial doormat — one in need of another teardown post-Patricia — into a Super Bowl contender. The Lions have never strung together back-to-back 10-win seasons; they appear poised to do so under Campbell, whose team has fed off its coach’s personality during this ascent.

Holmes, 45, gave Campbell, 48, a shot despite the latter not moving through the coordinator pipeline. The Dolphins’ interim HC in 2015, Campbell coached Saints tight ends in the five years between that stint and his return to Detroit. This has been one of the more interesting resurgences in modern NFL history, considering the Lions’ past and the outside mockery that ensued after Campbell’s first press conference.

Holmes played a key role in assembling the Rams’ Super Bowl LVI-winning team due to having been the team’s college scouting director from 2013-20, and while he had already arrived in Detroit by the time McVay’s team reached the mountaintop, Holmes’ rebuild soon took shape. The Lions have made several impact draft choices under their current GM, who has transformed what had been one of the NFL’s worst rosters.

This franchise has not resided on this level in the game since the Buddy Parker years in the 1950s. While Wayne Fontes guided the team to four playoff berths in the ’90s, Campbell has the team on a better trajectory. This season will bring a different role for the club — a frontrunner — but the Holmes-Campbell regime is architecting one of this era’s defining rebuilds.

Campbell will have the unexpected luxury of keeping Johnson as his play-caller for a third season. The Panthers again pursued the coveted HC candidate, but the Commanders moved into pole position for Johnson’s services. Washington reps were en route to Detroit when informed Johnson was no longer interested in the job. This led to some back-and-forth regarding the parties’ tactics, but Johnson — who had never called plays before his Lions tenure — can remain patient due to the pieces the Lions have in place.

The third-year OC has been a central part of this team’s rise, with Goff’s turnaround coming entirely on his watch. More appealing jobs figure to open up soon — some perhaps in the NFC East — and Johnson can probably command a higher salary than most first-time candidates due to his current stock. Another strong season from the Lions’ offense, which seems likely given the personnel, could finally prompt the 38-year-old to make the jump.

Newmark had been with the Lions since 1998, and he did ultimately make the move to Washington to be Adam Peters‘ top lieutenant. Peters kept ex-Lions GM Martin Mayhew and ex-Panthers GM Marty Hurney, doing so despite the team firing previous honcho Ron Rivera, but Newmark — who finished his Lions tenure as senior director of player personnel — is in place above the displaced GMs in the nation’s capital.

Sam LaPorta‘s second-round contract runs through 2026; the fast-rising Iowa alum cannot be extended until that year. That undoubtedly helped the Lions feel comfortable matching the 49ers’ offer sheet for Wright, who will continue in more of a blocking role while LaPorta guns for the first 1,000-yard tight end season in franchise history. LaPorta’s 889-yard showing is the top TE mark in team annals, and Wright — who logged 263 of his 423 snaps last season on run plays — will remain a key part of the team’s David Montgomery– and Jahmyr Gibbs-driven ground attack.

Top 10 cap charges for 2024:

  1. Jared Goff, QB: $27.21MM
  2. Frank Ragnow, C: $12.8MM
  3. Taylor Decker, LT: $10.96MM
  4. Aidan Hutchinson, OLB: $9.74MM
  5. Penei Sewell, RT: $8.17MM
  6. Alex Anzalone, LB: $7.44MM
  7. David Montgomery, RB: $6.79MM
  8. Kevin Zeitler, G: $5.94MM
  9. D.J. Reader, DT: $5.3MM
  10. Amon-Ra St. Brown, WR: $4.86MM

Although the Lions’ round of extensions may lead to long-term success, this season looms as crucial on the team’s timeline. The recently extended cogs’ cap numbers begin to rise in 2025, and it will be tougher for Holmes to maintain the kind of roster he has formed. That said, the Lions’ four first- or second-round picks from 2023 are all locked into rookie deals through at least the 2025 season. Gibbs can be retained through 2027 via the fifth-year option. This formula may well produce the first long-running Lions contender since the Bobby Layne era.

Detroit must fend off a quickly revitalized Green Bay operation and a Chicago outfit that has reset its QB clock thanks to the Justin Fields-for-Caleb Williams payroll adjustment. But Campbell’s team will enter the season as the NFC North favorite. Barring a slew of injuries, the Lions figure to be a surefire threat to the 49ers to reach Super Bowl LIX. Considering last season was the first time the Lions came especially close to a Super Bowl — as the 1991 Washington team routed the only other Detroit edition to advance to the NFC title game — this is a rather good time to be a fan of this franchise.

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