The Detroit Lions are heading toward a major offseason in 2023, and as some see it, the only way for the team to take steps forward is to make a big splash.
After a good finish to 2022 which saw the team go 9-8 and come within an eyelash of making a playoff push, many see the time as now for the Lions to step up and take the next steps toward getting over the top.
The offseason is a great time to make some headway, which is why many see this year as extra vital for the Lions. One such person is Jeffri Chadiha of NFL.com. In a piece before the start of the offseason looking at the teams that need to make major moves, Chadiha explained that Detroit is the top team that needs to make major moves.
Why is this the case? As explained, Brad Holmes could need to capitalize on his team’s expanding window for contention an continue to improve since their success will no longer be a surprise to anyone.
“The Lions turned plenty of heads in the second half of last season, when they produced their first winning record (9-8) in five years and nearly nabbed a wild-card berth. Now comes the hard part: operating in a world where nobody is going to take them for granted again. There’s a very good chance Detroit could win the NFC North this coming season. For that to happen, the Lions will need to utilize all the resources available to them this offseason. Those assets include two first-round picks in the 2023 NFL Draft (one of which is the sixth overall selection) and a decent amount of salary-cap space (currently projected at just over $22 million, per Over the Cap),” he wrote in the piece.
The Lions have chosen to build things in the draft overall, and have not taken the huge swing in free agency minus re-signing their own free agents. Bad luck has cost Detroit there, with Romeo Okwara and Tracy Walker both suffering tough injuries in the seasons after signing their deals.
Holmes could look to go outside the home for his splash this year, and it could even be seen as badly needed for him to do so relative to where the team is at right now in the league.
Lions Encouraged to Make Major Offseason Signings
So what does being aggressive mean to Chadiha? Taking multiple big swings on the market at key positions of need, including some on the offensive side of the ball.
In terms of the moves that he believes the team should make to get better, signing a tight end came up first in his mind, and Chadiha believes there are some bigger ticket name items on the market that could boost the roster.
“There could be plenty of options on the open market (such as the Cowboys’ Dalton Schultz, the Dolphins’ Mike Gesicki and the Bengals’ Hayden Hurst),” Chadiha wrote.
From there, Chadiha admits the team’s most pressing issue is helping out the secondary, which struggled mightily in 2022. To that end, he suggests some major names such as James Bradberry as well as safety Jessie Bates, two of the more common suggestions early on for the Lions.
“If Lions general manager Brad Holmes wants a cornerback, he can go after free agents like Tampa Bay’s Jamel Dean or Philadelphia’s James Bradberry. If safety is where the Lions decide to go, they could look at proven playmakers like the Bengals’ Jessie Bates or the Eagles’ Chauncey Gardner-Johnson. There’s also the ultra-sexy option of swinging a trade with the Rams, who are looking to potentially move star cornerback Jalen Ramsey,” he said in the piece.
As he admits, Brad Holmes has more often been contend to build things through the draft, but grasps what a player like Ramsey would bring to a defense, and specifically his defense in Detroit.
Regardless, with these names, it’s clear Chadiha wants to see Holmes more active than he’s ever been with the Lions early in his tenure as general manager.
Lions’ 2023 Offseason Primer
What will the Lions need to do with their money? There are plenty of ways for the team to go in terms of addressing needs capably.
For starters, the team will have to think about adding at least one offensive weapon to the mix. Detroit’s wideout group had depth and injury issues the last two years, so perhaps adding one player to the spot, either in the draft or via a re-signing of DJ Chark could make sense. Another tight end could be big as pointed out, but the Lions will have to decide whether or not to draft someone or make a market commitment.
From there, the Lions need to think about bolstering the defense. Help could be needed up front and on the back end and potentially at linebacker as well. Cornerback stands out as probably the largest spot of need that could be addressed in free agency.
In his first two offseason periods, Lions general manager Brad Holmes shied away from big deals, focusing instead on smaller deals to help supplement his roster. Several of those deals have panned out, from names like Isaiah Buggs and John Cominsky to Kalif Raymond on offense. The same approach could be expected, so the Lions might make one bigger splash while choosing to focus on multiple other smaller splashes to help continue to supplement things.
During the draft, the Lions can be expected to want to patch holes that they have not addressed capably in free agency. These include the defensive line, cornerback, tight end and perhaps linebacker, safety and quarterback. The extra first-round pick will give them some wiggle room as it relates to what to do.
No matter what happens, the Lions are in great shape heading toward the offseason. It will be important for them to keep the momentum going off late last season and build off it with some quality moves.
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Lions Pushed to Make ‘Major Moves’ for Big Names During 2023 Offseason