With many considering the 2025 season “Super Bowl or bust” for the Detroit Lions, expectations are as high as ever — and a successful offseason is key to meeting and exceeding expectations.
After dominating the 2024 regular season with a league-best 15-2 regular season record, the Lions came up short in the NFC divisional round of last year’s NFL playoffs when the Washington Commanders beat the Lions 45-31, leaving fans feeling unfulfilled.
Some expected that this would mean splash signings and trades, coaches sticking around for revenge, home-run picks in the NFL Draft and players making sacrifices to maintain their place as a part of something special in Detroit.
Instead, Lions fans saw relatively mild player acquisitions, the Lions’ 2024 coordinators packing their bags, a draft filled with what many consider “reaches,” key players leaving in free agency and an early retirement from a future Hall of Famer at the peak of his career.
Maybe we shouldn’t be so surprised at the approach — Lions General Manager Brad Holmes has a proven offseason track record of being patient, making underrated moves that mesh well with the established culture and setting up the team to exceed national expectations.
Despite the Lions retaining 80 percent of their roster from last season (the fourth most in the league, per Over the Cap), uncertainty is perhaps a Lions fan’s foremost feeling heading into the regular season.
That uncertainty will ultimately be settled, rather replaced by confidence or assurance of disappointment; it will continue to be settled by coaching, player performance, medical health and maybe a little luck — but the first step is the offseason.
Roster continuity, injections of new talent, a coaching carousel and some hard goodbyes make the possibilities seem endless for the Lions’ upcoming season.
While there are cornerstones still in place, the season’s outcome will be largely determined by the performance of the Lions new personnel.
Free agency grades
DJ Reed — Cornerback, New York Jets — three years, $48 million
A+ This is the gem of the offseason. Reed has been excellent over his past five seasons in Seattle and New York. Pro Football Focus ranked Reed as a top-6 corner in the NFL, and he should provide an inspiring locker room presence alongside invaluable mentorship to young corners Terrion Arnold and Ennis Rakestraw.
The Lions signed Reed just minutes after the departure of their top corner from last year, Carlton Davis. Reed is the better player, he stays healthy and he comes at a $4 million per year discount compared to Davis.
Roy Lopez — Defensive Tackle, Arizona Cardinals — one year, $3.5 million
B- Lopez started 16 games for the Cardinals in 2024, proving to be a reliable piece on the interior defensive line. Lopez has had modest production, but the Lions have had to trot out some liabilities at the defensive tackle position in recent years; Lopez helps ensure that doesn’t happen in 2025.
While Roy Lopez is certainly an uninspiring name to be the Lions’ second-most-notable free agency addition, he comes at a fairly cheap price and serves as a high-floor rotational piece that will help keep the defensive line fresh and fend off injuries for the unit as a whole.
Avonte Maddox — Defensive Back, Philadelphia Eagles — one year, $1.4 million
B+ Maddox spent the first seven years of his career in Philadelphia, where he took his snaps at slot cornerback. Maddox might have a tough time cracking a deep rotation of Lions corners. I expect the Lions to transition him to safety, where he can utilize his zone coverage savvy and aggressive tackling to play behind superstars Brian Branch and Kerby Joseph.
Maddox isn’t a star, but he should provide quality play at a position that is otherwise barren behind the starters. His Detroit ties, Super Bowl winning experience, cheap price tag and versatility make him my favorite signing of the Lions’ behind DJ Reed.
Grant Stuard — Linebacker, Indianapolis Colts — one year, $1.7 million
B The 2021 NFL Draft’s Mr. Irrelevant is undersized at 5-foot-11, 230, but his relentless play style and special teams strength have kept him on NFL rosters since entering the league. He appeared in all 17 games for the Colts in 2024 and started in five. Highlights included a blocked-punt touchdown against the Titans and a 19-tackle outing against the Miami Dolphins.
Stuard will continue to be limited by his lack of elite traits, but his instincts and hustle should give him the ability to earn a key role on special teams, a rotational role in the linebacker room and Dan Campbell’s favor. I expect Stuard’s contributions to be worth the $1.7 million he will earn in 2025.
The Lions also signed quarterback Kyle Allen, tight end Kenny Yeboah, cornerback Rock Ya-Sin and offensive lineman Trystan Colon — I don’t expect these players to make significant contributions or the final roster.
Draft grades
Tyleik Williams — Defensive Tackle, Ohio State — round one, 28 overall
B- Williams is a good player. He’s a talented run stuffer, and many think he has some of the best instincts and IQ in the draft. He was a leader on an elite Ohio State defense, and I think he can contribute right away for the Lions. However, it seems the Lions could have traded back into the early second round and still selected Williams.
Williams enters a deep defensive tackle room that includes Alim McNeil, DJ Reader and Roy Lopez — who all deserve quality snaps — along with unproven prospects Brodric Martin and Mekhi Wingo, which will make it very tough for Williams to get the amount of playing time you’d hope to see out of a first-rounder. However, after losing Levi Onwuzurike to an ACL tear, Williams’ could be set to start until Alim McNeil returns from a 2024 ACL tear of his own.
Tate Ratledge — Interior Offensive Lineman, Georgia — round two, 57 overall
A+ Ratledge is one of my favorite players in the draft. He checks all of the boxes. Ratledge was an All-American and a captain at Georgia, where in three years as a starter he produced an abundance of film that shows high-level technique and understanding of his responsibilities. He’s more than a technician, though — Ratledge recorded a Relative Athletic Score (RAS) of 9.96 out of 10, one of the top five marks ever recorded by an offensive guard.
Whether he winds up a guard or a center, Ratledge is a plug-and-play player in a position group where the Lions need to compensate for the departures of Frank Ragnow and Kevin Zeitler. Learning under Offensive Line Coach and guru Hank Fraley, I think Ratledge can be a future All-Pro offensive lineman.
Isaac TeSlaa — Wide Receiver, Arkansas — round three, 70 overall
C TeSlaa is another freak athlete. He packs 4.4 speed and elite explosiveness into an ideal 6’4, 215 frame — he too scored an RAS of over 9.9. TeSlaa, however, doesn’t touch the levels of production fans would expect from an early-third-round receiver.
Despite the production concerns, TeSlaa’s tape displays athleticism, maybe the best blocking the receiver position has to offer and incredibly dependable hands — he hasn’t dropped a ball in-game in over two years. I think the Lions are justifiably in love with the Michigan native, but I am ultimately concerned about the price the Lions paid to grab the receiver who many thought would go in the fourth or fifth round.
Miles Frazier — Guard, LSU — round five, 171 overall
A After taking a 100-pick hiatus from selecting a player, the Lions came back strong with Frazier. Frazier is a dependable pass protector with great size (6-foot-6, 317) who can play all over the offensive line. You’d have to go back 21 games to find the last time Frazier allowed a sack, despite matchups with high-level SEC competition.
Frazier has room to improve as a run blocker, but his positional flexibility, size and pass protection technique make him well worth a late fifth-round selection. I had Frazier ranked the sixth-best guard in the class — he was the 11th taken.
Ahmed Hassanein — Edge, Boise State — round six, 196 overall
B- Hassanein is one of the most intriguing stories in the draft. Hassanein was once a CrossFit champion from Egypt who had played just a single season of high school football. He earned a spot as a walk-on at Boise State, where he racked up first-team All-Mountain West honors each of the last two seasons and 22 sacks over that time.
Hassanein is still very raw — most prospects have been playing football about three times longer than he has — but the same undeniable power, effort and coachability that paved the way for him to become the leader and standout star of an NCAA playoff defense could very well pave the way for success in the Honolulu Blue.
Dan Jackson — Safety, Georgia — round seven, 230 overall
D This pick does not particularly move me. Another guy who went from walk-on to starter, Jackson is praised for his instincts, IQ and motor. He’s been a solid contributor at Georgia, and some of his biggest plays came in the biggest moments. However, Jackson is undersized, he’ll be 25 before the season ends and he lacks any traits that really jump out on paper.
I’d be surprised if Jackson was still on the roster by the time 2026 rolls around, but his gritty play style, coachability and tenacity would make me happy to eat my words.
Dominic Lovett — Wide Receiver, Georgia — round seven, 244 overall
B Detroit triple dipped in the Georgia pool by taking Lovett with their last pick of the draft. Lovett is a smaller slot receiver, but he excels at getting open by running crisp routes and finding soft spots against zone coverage. He’s a capable athlete, with the speed to turn some routine catches into big gains.
Lovett was productive over his last two seasons for the Bulldogs, but he looked like he was on pace to be a star as a true sophomore at Missouri. If the Lions can tap into that potential, Lovett will make his way onto the final roster and have a strong opportunity to contribute for the Lions in 2025.
Other key moves
Re-signings
- Derrick Barnes, Linebacker (three years, $25.5 million)
- Marcus Davenport, Edge (one year, $2.5 million
- Tim Patrick, Wide Receiver (one year, $4 million)
- Dan Skipper, Offensive Tackle (one year, $1.4 million)
- Levi Onwuzurike, Defensive Tackle (one year, $4 million) — out for season
Contract Extensions
- Kerby Joseph, Safety (four years, $86 million)
Departures
- Frank Ragnow, Center (retirement)
- Kevin Zetiler, Right Guard (Tennessee Titans — one year, $9 million)
- Carlton Davis, Cornerback (New England Patriots — three years, $60 million)
- Za’Darius Smith, Edge (released)
- Ifeatu Melifonwu, Safety (Miami Dolphins — one year, $3 million)
Coaching carousel
There were seven head coaching jobs vacant heading into the offseason — two of them were filled by the Lions’ 2025 coordinators, Ben Johnson (offense) and Aaron Glenn (defense).
Johnson was highly sought after as an offensive mastermind, landing him the head coaching job in Chicago, taking command of Caleb Williams and the Bears and leaving the Lions’ offensive coordinator spot open.
Insert John Morton.
John Morton? John Morton.
The Auburn Hills, MI native comes into the Lions’ offensive coordinator role after a successful season as the passing game coordinator for the Denver Broncos. He’s worked with Campbell in the past and is expected to retain much of 2024’s offensive scheme — which was behind the best offense in the NFL.
Morton has served as an offensive coordinator once before with the Jets in 2017. The team was severely talent-depleted, but many of the starters put up career-best numbers under Morton.
With the Lions’ offensive roster being as talented as it is, maybe a step away from genius trick plays and towards simplicity isn’t the worst thing in the world. Morton is in position to succeed, but the pressure to succeed is palpable and warranted.
Kelvin Sheppard is taking over the defensive unit for Aaron Glenn, who left to be the head coach of the New York Jets.
Sheppard has spent the last three seasons as the Lions’ linebackers coach and learning under Aaron Glenn, who intentionally groomed Sheppard to be the Lions’ next defensive Coordinator.
With Sheppard likely mimicking Glenn’s scheme and bringing the same players’ coach energy that Glenn brought, Lions fans should expect continuity with the play of the defense. I have faith that Sheppard could even exceed Glenn by developing some flexibility rather than being married to the scheme, as Glenn was.
These coaching changes were certainly the biggest, but the Lions also experienced the most overall coaching changes of any NFL team this offseason, with over 20 staff roles affected, including:
OUT: Johnson, Glenn, Terrell Williams (DL coach, now Patriots DC), Tanner Engstrand (pass game coordinator, now Jets OC), Antwaan Randle El (WR coach, now Bears WR coach and assistant HC).
IN: Morton, Kacy Rogers (DL coach, from Buccaneers), David Shaw (pass game coordinator, from Broncos), Tashard Choice (RB coach, from the University of Texas).
UP: Sheppard, Hank Fraley (OL coach, gained run game coordinator title), Shaun Dion Hamilton (was defensive assistant, now LB coach), Scottie Montgomery (was RB coach, now WR coach).
