2026 Detroit Lions Offseason Thread

[MichiganCardinal]

3 hours ago, Jason_R said:

But they maneuvered up the draft board for these developmental players like they were moving up for Gibbs or Jameson Williams. You put players like that on a bit of a pedestal. Now everyone is dancing around Manu like, uh are we allowed to acknowledge that he is not progressing? I don't know what that looks like in the locker room, but is he getting attention that another player should get?

 

1 hour ago, RatkoVarda said:

exactly. Brad and Dan said they could not sleep, knowing that Manu and Vaki were still available for the next day's picks. really??? If they both really thought that, then that speaks to a huge mis-evaluation for both guys. if they stood still and grabbed Manu, the expectations/narratives might be different.

and again, Brad is the best Lions GM in my lifetime by a mile.

I come back though to the question of who if not Manu/Vaki? And to get ahead of the likelihood that someone in the ~130 picks after them was good, why didn’t a team take them in one of the first three rounds?

This Door #2 fallacy is just Monday Morning QBing in my opinion. If they have two guys they love in the 4th round, I would rather them move to go get them than sit right and take four mediocre players who all get cut by 2026. Compare Holmes’ drafts apples to apples across the league and he’s easily in the top ten.

And the comments after draft day are just coach speak. They’re not going to say “yeah it’s round four, so hopefully these guys pan out but who knows 🤷‍♂️ “

[Longgone]

1 hour ago, RatkoVarda said:

exactly. Brad and Dan said they could not sleep, knowing that Manu and Vaki were still available for the next day's picks. really??? If they both really thought that, then that speaks to a huge mis-evaluation for both guys. if they stood still and grabbed Manu, the expectations/narratives might be different.

and again, Brad is the best Lions GM in my lifetime by a mile.

Brad selects players on which he has conviction. He should continue to do that even though they won't all hit. He also is willing to gamble a few picks on high risk/high reward players, and the nature of those types is that most will fail, but keep doing it anyway.

[Jason_R]

1 hour ago, MichiganCardinal said:

 

I come back though to the question of who if not Manu/Vaki? And to get ahead of the likelihood that someone in the ~130 picks after them was good, why didn’t a team take them in one of the first three rounds?

This Door #2 fallacy is just Monday Morning QBing in my opinion. If they have two guys they love in the 4th round, I would rather them move to go get them than sit right and take four mediocre players who all get cut by 2026. Compare Holmes’ drafts apples to apples across the league and he’s easily in the top ten.

And the comments after draft day are just coach speak. They’re not going to say “yeah it’s round four, so hopefully these guys pan out but who knows 🤷‍♂️ “

All I’m saying is that if he hadn’t traded up for Manu he would still have had the 92nd pick in the 2025 NFL draft where he could have picked up Jalen Milroe as the replacement for Hendon Hooker at the position of developmental QB. 😂

[Sports_Freak]

14 hours ago, Jason_R said:

All I’m saying is that if he hadn’t traded up for Manu he would still have had the 92nd pick in the 2025 NFL draft where he could have picked up Jalen Milroe as the replacement for Hendon Hooker at the position of developmental QB. 😂

But to be fair, every team can look back at every draft and say they should have taken this player instead of that player. Monday Morning Quarterbacking. 

[Jason_R]

3 hours ago, Sports_Freak said:

But to be fair, every team can look back at every draft and say they should have taken this player instead of that player. Monday Morning Quarterbacking. 

Clearly I was joking in the post you are responding to. But we know Holmes gets fixated on his guys.

It feels like after rebuilding the roster with some historic trades and drafts, he got a little bit cute. 

[Sports_Freak]

1 hour ago, Jason_R said:

Clearly I was joking in the post you are responding to. But we know Holmes gets fixated on his guys.

It feels like after rebuilding the roster with some historic trades and drafts, he got a little bit cute. 

Agreed. Of course, all of those quality players he drafted were the result of high draft picks from so much losing. And the Stafford trade. He had a lot of assets to work with. And while I agree he's had several misses recently,we can't complain. His roster is a winning franchise. The next couple of years will tell a lot, can he build around several very good players?

[MichiganCardinal]

We're less than 24 hours away from the start of legal tampering! They've got some work to do and I expect they'll be pretty busy.

Needs and depth based on position:

- QB 5/10: (1) Goff - need a backup or two.
- RB 6/10: (1) Gibbs, (2) Vaki - I don't think Vaki is the RB2 we need and they'll do something short-term here
- WR 2/10: (1) ASB, (2) Jamo, (3) TeSlaa, (4) Lovett - WR1-3 are set for the foreseeable future, but they might need to add some depth here, even if it's just on the practice squad. Might come in the draft or even UDFAs.
- TE 5/10: (1) LaPorta, (2) Wright - all public signs seem to point to a healthy LaPorta by training camp. If that's not the case, this becomes much more dire. I still think it's important they add reliable depth here. Wright was not very good last year. And when he went down, we had no TEs left and it derailed the offensive identity on the ground.
- OT 10/10: (1) Sewell, (2) Manu - need at least one starter, probably need a backup too
- IOL 10/10: (1) Ratledge, (2) Mahagony, (3) Scruggs, (4) Frazier, (5) Niese, (6) Sorsdol - need at least one starter, plenty of depth here, but even if you trust Mahagony (who was bad in pass protection), you need either a center or a RG.
- DT 4/10: (1) McNeill, (2) Williams, (3) Onwuzurike, (4) Wingo - depending on whether you trust Levi, you're in an okay spot here, at least comparatively. Could still use some depth.
- DE 8/10: (1) Hutchinson, (2) Paschal, (3) Hassanein - obviously going to need to do something here. The real question is what and how good the solution will be.
- LB: 7/10: (1) Campbell, (2) Barnes - you have your top two, hard to know what the plan is beyond that.
- CB 9/10: (1) Reed, (2) Arnold, (3) Dorsey, (4) Rakestraw - this is one of the hardest positions to judge but you at least need a nickel. Can you count on Arnold? Can you count on Rakestraw?
- S 9/10: (1) Joseph?, (2) Harper, (3) Jackson, (4) Branch - another hard position to judge. Will Joseph be back? If so, can you count on him? When will Branch be back?
- ST 1/10 - Bates, Fox, Hatten - they seem set here. They may bring in some competition for Bates or Hatten.

[sagnam]

Hal

1 hour ago, MichiganCardinal said:

We're less than 24 hours away from the start of legal tampering! They've got some work to do and I expect they'll be pretty busy.

Needs and depth based on position:

- QB 5/10: (1) Goff - need a backup or two.
- RB 6/10: (1) Gibbs, (2) Vaki - I don't think Vaki is the RB2 we need and they'll do something short-term here
- WR 2/10: (1) ASB, (2) Jamo, (3) TeSlaa, (4) Lovett - WR1-3 are set for the foreseeable future, but they might need to add some depth here, even if it's just on the practice squad. Might come in the draft or even UDFAs.
- TE 5/10: (1) LaPorta, (2) Wright - all public signs seem to point to a healthy LaPorta by training camp. If that's not the case, this becomes much more dire. I still think it's important they add reliable depth here. Wright was not very good last year. And when he went down, we had no TEs left and it derailed the offensive identity on the ground.
- OT 10/10: (1) Sewell, (2) Manu - need at least one starter, probably need a backup too
- IOL 10/10: (1) Ratledge, (2) Mahagony, (3) Scruggs, (4) Frazier, (5) Niese, (6) Sorsdol - need at least one starter, plenty of depth here, but even if you trust Mahagony (who was bad in pass protection), you need either a center or a RG.
- DT 4/10: (1) McNeill, (2) Williams, (3) Onwuzurike, (4) Wingo - depending on whether you trust Levi, you're in an okay spot here, at least comparatively. Could still use some depth.
- DE 8/10: (1) Hutchinson, (2) Paschal, (3) Hassanein - obviously going to need to do something here. The real question is what and how good the solution will be.
- LB: 7/10: (1) Campbell, (2) Barnes - you have your top two, hard to know what the plan is beyond that.
- CB 9/10: (1) Reed, (2) Arnold, (3) Dorsey, (4) Rakestraw - this is one of the hardest positions to judge but you at least need a nickel. Can you count on Arnold? Can you count on Rakestraw?
- S 9/10: (1) Joseph?, (2) Harper, (3) Jackson, (4) Branch - another hard position to judge. Will Joseph be back? If so, can you count on him? When will Branch be back?
- ST 1/10 - Bates, Fox, Hatten - they seem set here. They may bring in some competition for Bates or Hatten.

Half of the position groups at 7 or above is not a good sign. 4 of the 5 defensive groups and the entire OL.

[MichiganCardinal]

Some predictions for the next few months. I think they'll be busy but smart, with mostly short deals and keeping their own. And one big splash.

Restructure: Goff and Sewell (let ASB eat into the cap this year).

Extensions:
- Jack Campbell, 5th year option + 4 years / $92MM ($50MM guaranteed)
- Jahmyr Gibbs, 5th year option + 3 years / $66MM ($35MM guaranteed)
- Sam LaPorta, 3 years / $57MM ($30MM guaranteed)

Free Agency:
- QB: Kyle Allen, 2 years/$5MM ($2MM guaranteed, effectively a one-year)
- RB: JK Dobbins, 1 year/$5.5MM (fully guaranteed)
- WR: No moves
- TE: Foster Moreau, 1 year / $3.5MM ($2.5MM guaranteed)
- OT: Braden Smith, 2 years / $28MM ($18MM guaranteed, cut candidate after one year)
- IOL: Tyler Linderbaum, 4 years / $88MM ($50MM guaranteed)
- DT: Roy Lopez, 1 year / $5MM ($4MM guaranteed)
- DE: Logan Hall, 1 year / $6MM ($3MM guaranteed)
- LB: Malcolm Rodriguez, 1 year / $5MM ($2MM guaranteed); Grant Stuard, 1-year / minimum
- CB: Amik Robertson, 1 year / $5.5MM ($2.5MM guaranteed); Noah Igbinoghene, 1 year / minimum
- S: Andre Cisco, 1 year / $4MM ($1MM guaranteed)
- ST: No moves

Draft:
1st: Keldric Faulk, EDGE, Auburn
2nd: Max Iheanachor, OT, Arizona State
3rd (after trade): Jalon Kilgore, DB, South Carolina
5th: VJ Payne, S, Kansas State
5th: Harrison Wallace, WR, Ole Miss
6th: Deontae Lawson, LB, Alabama
7th: Cole Payton, QB, North Dakota State
UDFA: Mohamed Toure, LB, Miami

2026 Depth Chart:
- QB (3): Goff, Allen, Payton
- RB (3): Gibbs, Dobbins, Vaki
- WR (5): St. Brown, Williams, TeSlaa, Lovett, Wallace
- TE (3): LaPorta, Moreau, Wright
- OL (9): (LT) Sewell, (LG) Mahagony, (C) Linderbaum, (RG) Ratledge, (RT) Smith, (OT3) Iheanachor, (OT4) Manu, (IOL4) Scruggs, (IOL5) Frazier 
- DT (5): McNeil, Williams, Lopez, Onwuzurike, Wingo
- DE (5): Hutchinson, Faulk, Hall, Paschal, Hassanein
- LB (6): Campbell, Barnes, Rodrigo, Stuard, Lawson, Toure
- CB (6): Reed, Arnold, Robertson, Igbinoghene, Dorsey, Rakestraw
- S (5): Joseph, Cisco, Kilgore, Harper, Payne; Branch (PUP)
- ST (3): Bates, Fox, Hatten

[Motown Bombers]

I think Laporta is extended at the bye week. They play it like Hutchinson and make sure he’s healthy. 

[MichiganCardinal]

39 minutes ago, Motown Bombers said:

I think Laporta is extended at the bye week. They play it like Hutchinson and make sure he’s healthy. 

IIRC the delay with Hutch was on the side of Hutch’s camp. They thought the injury would dampen his value in negotiations and wanted to wait.

Of course, LaPorta could be the same.

[Mr.TaterSalad]

Why do we need to extend Gibbs this early? Why not ride him out to the franchise tag and year 6?

[MichiganCardinal]

1 hour ago, Mr.TaterSalad said:

Why do we need to extend Gibbs this early? Why not ride him out to the franchise tag and year 6?

Just not what they tend to do. With each of Sewell, Jamo, and Hutch, they exercised the 5th year option and then extended them shortly thereafter.

It still locks them in for the 5th year at the option price (as opposed to a market setting price), but they don’t tend to play around with the tag on guys they know they want.

A Gibbs extension right now would keep him on his rookie deal cost for 2026, his 5th year option cost in 2027, and any extension in 2028 and beyond. By then, whatever price they lock him in on probably won’t be even top of the market, Bijan and Jeanty will have probably both reset it again.

[Motown Bombers]

For someone who wants the Lions to be aggressive, they want to have Gibbs eat up the most possible cap space the next three years. 

[Hongbit]

I hope that we hear about some restructuring this morning.  Not sure why it’s taken so long to get Goff done.  They aren’t going to have him play for a $70M cap hit this season.  

[Motown Bombers]

They can restructure at any time. They just need to be under the cap by Wednesday which they are pending the release of Decker. Probably looking for the market to set itself and they will restructure what they need. 

[Motown Bombers]

It’s interesting I haven’t seen anything official on Decker’s release. 

[MichiganCardinal]

2 hours ago, Motown Bombers said:

For someone who wants the Lions to be aggressive, they want to have Gibbs eat up the most possible cap space the next three years. 

I'm not sure I understand, or even if I am the "someone."

They could exercise Gibbs' 5th year option on Wednesday and then sign him to a 30-year extension on Thursday and it still wouldn't change his 2026 and 2027 salary.

He's on his rookie deal this year, making around $4.5MM. His 5th year option next year is around $14.2MM. Then his extension will likely reset the market (set by Saquon at $20.6MM) starting in 2028. I think there is some flexibility if they have the space to put a signing bonus into 2026 or 2027, but that's optional.

I think one of the reasons the Lions extend early is because it locks them in to a contract set in 2026. If he signs a market-setting deal now, he makes $21MM APY in 2028. If he signs a market-setting deal after Bijan and/or Jeanty sign, now he might be closer to $25MM. $21MM of the 2028 cap is also less percentage-wise than it would be today.

[MichiganCardinal]

1 hour ago, Hongbit said:

I hope that we hear about some restructuring this morning.  Not sure why it’s taken so long to get Goff done.  They aren’t going to have him play for a $70M cap hit this season.  

 

17 minutes ago, Motown Bombers said:

It’s interesting I haven’t seen anything official on Decker’s release. 

I think these are related. I expect they plan to have conversations with agents of some more expensive players today. If they sign here, they may need to restructure more (e.g., Sewell and ASB). If not, they may be good with just a partial restructure of Goff's deal. Either way, I'm sure conversations have been had with all three of ASB, Goff, and Sewell's agents about the possibility. Usually contracts don't even give the player a choice, since it's all positive for them (more guaranteed money has little to no drawback for the player).

Also, they don't have to make restructures public. They may have been done for weeks and just not released the information.

Same for Decker, depending on what they do in the next 48 hours will probably determine whether he's released with a post-6/1 designation. Though maybe they're hoping cooler heads will prevail? Or that if a deal doesn't pan out they'll pay him more? Who knows. The next 72 hours will tell us a lot.

[Motown Bombers]

They could be looking for a trade for Decker. 

[KL2]

I'm against 30-year deals for running backs

[MichiganCardinal]

Happy Tampering Day everybody!

 

 

[Sports_Freak]

19 hours ago, MichiganCardinal said:

Some predictions for the next few months. I think they'll be busy but smart, with mostly short deals and keeping their own. And one big splash.

Restructure: Goff and Sewell (let ASB eat into the cap this year).

Extensions:
- Jack Campbell, 5th year option + 4 years / $92MM ($50MM guaranteed)
- Jahmyr Gibbs, 5th year option + 3 years / $66MM ($35MM guaranteed)
- Sam LaPorta, 3 years / $57MM ($30MM guaranteed)

Free Agency:
- QB: Kyle Allen, 2 years/$5MM ($2MM guaranteed, effectively a one-year)
- RB: JK Dobbins, 1 year/$5.5MM (fully guaranteed)
- WR: No moves
- TE: Foster Moreau, 1 year / $3.5MM ($2.5MM guaranteed)
- OT: Braden Smith, 2 years / $28MM ($18MM guaranteed, cut candidate after one year)
- IOL: Tyler Linderbaum, 4 years / $88MM ($50MM guaranteed)
- DT: Roy Lopez, 1 year / $5MM ($4MM guaranteed)
- DE: Logan Hall, 1 year / $6MM ($3MM guaranteed)
- LB: Malcolm Rodriguez, 1 year / $5MM ($2MM guaranteed); Grant Stuard, 1-year / minimum
- CB: Amik Robertson, 1 year / $5.5MM ($2.5MM guaranteed); Noah Igbinoghene, 1 year / minimum
- S: Andre Cisco, 1 year / $4MM ($1MM guaranteed)
- ST: No moves

Draft:
1st: Keldric Faulk, EDGE, Auburn
2nd: Max Iheanachor, OT, Arizona State
3rd (after trade): Jalon Kilgore, DB, South Carolina
5th: VJ Payne, S, Kansas State
5th: Harrison Wallace, WR, Ole Miss
6th: Deontae Lawson, LB, Alabama
7th: Cole Payton, QB, North Dakota State
UDFA: Mohamed Toure, LB, Miami

2026 Depth Chart:
- QB (3): Goff, Allen, Payton
- RB (3): Gibbs, Dobbins, Vaki
- WR (5): St. Brown, Williams, TeSlaa, Lovett, Wallace
- TE (3): LaPorta, Moreau, Wright
- OL (9): (LT) Sewell, (LG) Mahagony, (C) Linderbaum, (RG) Ratledge, (RT) Smith, (OT3) Iheanachor, (OT4) Manu, (IOL4) Scruggs, (IOL5) Frazier 
- DT (5): McNeil, Williams, Lopez, Onwuzurike, Wingo
- DE (5): Hutchinson, Faulk, Hall, Paschal, Hassanein
- LB (6): Campbell, Barnes, Rodrigo, Stuard, Lawson, Toure
- CB (6): Reed, Arnold, Robertson, Igbinoghene, Dorsey, Rakestraw
- S (5): Joseph, Cisco, Kilgore, Harper, Payne; Branch (PUP)
- ST (3): Bates, Fox, Hatten

Good work and very interesting. But could we afford all of those signings?

[Stanley70]

 A couple of trades. Rashaan Gary to the Cowboys and Minkah Fitzpatrick to the Jets. Two guys i wouldn't have minded picking up until i saw the cap hits, 18+ for each of them.

[Motown Bombers]

With this kind of money going around, I don’t think the Lions will be in the market for a pass rusher.