It’s rather clear Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell doesn’t enjoy the process of waiving nearly 40 players at the end of the preseason, ending their dreams of playing for the Lions. One could tell that fact by the tone Campbell used during his morning press conference on August 25.
But it wasn’t all grim from Campbell. What makes the process so tough is the fact Detroit’s roster has become one of the best in the league.
The Lions head coach expressed that optimism, suggesting this year’s roster for the organization is the best yet from his tenure.
“I feel like, collectively, across the board, this looks pretty good,” Campbell told reporters. “Yeah, Year 5, this is the best we’ve felt about it, kind of top to bottom.
“Now, that being said, there’s still holes, but I bring this up all the time, every roster has holes. You’ll never have it exactly where you totally want it, but from where we’ve come, year after year, we’ve taken it another level.”
The Lions taking their roster to another level is a scary notion for the rest of the NFL. Detroit went 12-5 in 2023 to win its first division title in 30 years.
Then last season, the Lions finished with the best regular season record at 15-2.
Dan Campbell Suggests Lions Still Getting Better
The Lions have improved under Campbell every season, and those improvements have often been big jumps.
In Campbell’s first season during 2021, the Lions went 3-13-1. They started the following season 1-6 but ended the 2022 campaign with a 9-8 record.
The Lions then increased their win total by three more games each of the next two seasons.
There aren’t 18 regular season games for the Lions to win in 2025, so they can’t make that kind of jump again. Even to stay the same and win 15 games again this fall is going to be a challenge. It’s just always hard to win that many games in the NFL.
But if the Lions prove to have an even better roster than 2025, then another special season is certainly on the table. The Lions also likely have more of their attention focused on showing improvement in the playoffs.
While Detroit was 15-2 in the 2024 regular season, the team lost in the first round of the postseason in January.
Lions Strong Roster Created Tough Cuts Such as QB Hendon Hooker
With how strong the Detroit roster is “top to bottom,” the team naturally faces very difficult decisions ahead of the league’s roster cutdown day, which is Tuesday.
The Lions must trim their roster to 53 players by 4 pm ET on August 26.
The team made arguably their toughest decision Monday. NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo reported the Lions waived quarterback Hendon Hooker.
The third-year quarterback was on the roster bubble because of his play. But the Lions probably found it harder to justify keeping Hooker because of how many other roster-worthy players the team had at other positions.
Campbell discussed that thought process after the team’s preseason finale Saturday.
“Maybe there’s room to grow [for Hooker]. Okay, well is that worth it for the depth that we need at O-line, D-line, receiver, DB,” Campbell added. “And so, those are all things you’ve got to weigh.”
Lions’ Dan Campbell Puts the NFL on Notice