2026 Detroit Lions Offseason Thread

[sagnam]

1 hour ago, MichiganCardinal said:

How do you not love Dan?? “Touchdown Detroit Lions!” is our generation’s “long gone” or “nice area”

I still believe he used his influence at Fox to push Champion out, who was a great broadcaster.

[MichiganCardinal]

2 minutes ago, sagnam said:

I still believe he used his influence at Fox to push Champion out, who was a great broadcaster.

I will freely admit I know nothing of that.

[MichiganCardinal]

Jake Bates frontrunner to be MVP

[Mr.TaterSalad]

I hate seeing this and hate saying this, but Rakestraw is a bust. 

[holygoat]

1 hour ago, sagnam said:

I still believe he used his influence at Fox to push Champion out, who was a great broadcaster.

Mark Champion was so good, and as an older dude, Miller just sounds like he's trying way too hard on nearly every play.

[MichiganCardinal]

29 minutes ago, Mr.TaterSalad said:

I hate seeing this and hate saying this, but Rakestraw is a bust. 

He was having a good game before that. If he’s out for an extended period of time I may agree with you.

[MichiganCardinal]

 

[MichiganCardinal]

I hope he brings something in the run game and doesn’t turn into James Houston 2.0.

[buddha]

4 hours ago, Mr.TaterSalad said:

I hate seeing this and hate saying this, but Rakestraw is a bust. 

i'll be surprised if rakestraw ever plays meaningful nfl minutes.  there is a better chance he gets a medical settlement than a second contract.

[1984Echoes]

If Whiteside steals the starting gig next to JR Reed...

I'm perfectly fine with Rakestraw being 1st backup.

But I agree on the 2nd contract...

unless he's willing to sign cheap 1-years each year after his rookie contract runs out. I would consider him a quality backup that gets nicked up a lot.

[1984Echoes]

Rakestraw, McCreary (also a 2nd rounder) and Rock Ya-Sin as backups on the outside...? That's good depth.

[1984Echoes]

The weakness on Whiteside is long speed: I'm seeing 4.55/ 4.60 40 speed, anyone else seeing anything different?

Does he get beat deep by the faster WR's in the league? Does safety help cover that up?

Just a few questions rolling around in my head...

[IdahoBert]

As a mere bandwagon Lions fan, I have only just now discovered that this team is predicted to be pretty good this year.

So I scanned the schedule to see what I would be able to watch and it might be six or seven games when I see what’s on CBS, Prime, on ESPN, and on Peacock.

Just about anything broadcast on FOX will only be available to me “out west” if they’re playing a West Coast team because that’s all my local affiliate will allow me to see. I don’t even know if I’ll be able to watch games on CBS unless they are against West Coast teams. Oh well. 

I guess this is the price I pay for living in the diaspora and having low humidity and mountains on the horizon for the last 52 years.   

[MichiganCardinal]

 

[buddha]

On 8/14/2026 at 12:00 PM, MichiganCardinal said:

 

"I'll be back....until at least the 3rd quarter of next week's game!"

[lordstanley]

On 8/14/2026 at 9:19 AM, IdahoBert said:

As a mere bandwagon Lions fan, I have only just now discovered that this team is predicted to be pretty good this year.

So I scanned the schedule to see what I would be able to watch and it might be six or seven games when I see what’s on CBS, Prime, on ESPN, and on Peacock.

Just about anything broadcast on FOX will only be available to me “out west” if they’re playing a West Coast team because that’s all my local affiliate will allow me to see. I don’t even know if I’ll be able to watch games on CBS unless they are against West Coast teams. Oh well. 

I guess this is the price I pay for living in the diaspora and having low humidity and mountains on the horizon for the last 52 years.   

Does your cable provider offer a "time shift" option? I pay $7 per month to get ABC, NBC, CBS and Fox affiliates from the Eastern time zone (the first three are from Detroit, unfortunately the Fox is from Rochester) in addition to the Seattle stations. That gets me more games. Also, available for you but not for me, the timeshift also gives me CTV affiliates from Alberta, Manitoba and Ontario as well as BC, while a Canadian station picks up any Peacock, ESPN or Prime games. So all in all, I get around 12 free games out of the 16 per week, and with the Lions now popular I'm 90% sure I'll get every single Lions game this season.

[IdahoBert]

26 minutes ago, lordstanley said:

Does your cable provider offer a "time shift" option? I pay $7 per month to get ABC, NBC, CBS and Fox affiliates from the Eastern time zone (the first three are from Detroit, unfortunately the Fox is from Rochester) in addition to the Seattle stations. That gets me more games. Also, available for you but not for me, the timeshift also gives me CTV affiliates from Alberta, Manitoba and Ontario as well as BC, while a Canadian station picks up any Peacock, ESPN or Prime games. So all in all, I get around 12 free games out of the 16 per week, and with the Lions now popular I'm 90% sure I'll get every single Lions game this season.

I don’t have a Cable provider. I do have access to YouTube TV and countless subscriptions. I’m not interested in going the extra mile to do a VPN thing to change my address. I don’t want to watch games on an iPad or something. I want to watch them on my regular TV so it’s just not that big of a deal to me.

[MichiganCardinal]

Campbell said a “significant number” of starters will play in the second preseason game on Saturday afternoon.

[Stanley70]

I think the Lions will be adding a few more pieces before opening day. I think they need another run stuffing DT, if Alim or Williams go down they could be in trouble. They could wait to see who becomes available at cut down day.

And they need another CB, Adore Jackson and Trevon Diggs are unsigned. That may be a position they add a bigger piece at the trade deadline though.

And i am not comfortable with Sione Vaki being the 2nd or 3rd RB. He is already hurt, and hasn't shown much in 2 years anyway. Saylors didn't look too bad but there are a few unsigned vets that could help, like Najee Harris.

[MichiganCardinal]

5 minutes ago, Stanley70 said:

I think the Lions will be adding a few more pieces before opening day. I think they need another run stuffing DT, if Alim or Williams go down they could be in trouble. They could wait to see who becomes available at cut down day.

And they need another CB, Adore Jackson and Trevon Diggs are unsigned. That may be a position they add a bigger piece at the trade deadline though.

And i am not comfortable with Sione Vaki being the 2nd or 3rd RB. He is already hurt, and hasn't shown much in 2 years anyway. Saylors didn't look too bad but there are a few unsigned vets that could help, like Najee Harris.

I think what you see is probably what you get. I doubt they make any kind of move unless their hand is forced by an injury.

A run stuffing DT (ala Snacks Harrison, what Brodric Martin was supposed to be) would be nice. But if Tyleik plays like the talent he was drafted to be and Alim plays like it's 2024, you have two of the top DTs in the league. Onwuzurike provides high quality swing depth with starting capability as long as he's healthy and Chris Smith is a favorite of the coaching staff. Skyler Gill-Howard probably rounds that group out as the 6th round rookie, and even he showed flashes in the preseason game.

Corner, I think you're looking at DJ Reed and Rock Ya-Sin on the outside to start, with one of McCreary, Izien, or Abney in the slot. Is that world beating or fear enducing? No. But it should be capable of getting the job done and preventing 30-40+ point outputs by opposing offenses. If they were going to add something major to this room, I think they would have done it in the immediate aftermath of releasing TA.

I agree with you on the running back room, but I still don't think it gets addressed before week one. I never loved the Pacheco signing and Vaki doesn't inspire confidence as RB2. Obviously the hope is that none of that matters because you have a three-down back in Gibbs. He's been very durable the last two years, but that's while splitting carries with Monty. Can he maintain that health while routinely getting 20-30 carries per game? I sure hope so, because I think this offense may become one-dimensional awfully quick if he goes down.