2026 Detroit Lions Offseason Thread

[Motown Bombers]

So the Lions can’t hire anyone who may have been with the team at one point in the past. The Lions had a historically good offense. Insane to hire anyone connected to that offense. 

Edited 9 hours ago by Motown Bombers

[Mr.TaterSalad]

12 minutes ago, Motown Bombers said:

So the Lions can’t hire anyone who may have been with the team at one point in the past. The Lions had a historically good offense. Insane to hire anyone connected to that offense. 

Hiring Morton was not insane, nor did I ever infer it was. In-fact, I liked the hire for the most part at the time. I just feel they could have broaden their search more. Maybe they did and I just wasn't aware of it or the media didn't report on it.

[Motown Bombers]

1 minute ago, Mr.TaterSalad said:

Hiring Morton was not insane, nor did I ever infer it was. In-fact, I liked the hire for the most part at the time. I just feel they could have broaden their search more. Maybe they did and I just wasn't aware of it or the media didn't report on it.

Why would they broaden their search when they had one of the best offenses in history? Next man up would have been Engstrand which maybe they should’ve done. 

[sagnam]

The guy responsible for the historically good offense has propped up an average line and average running backs in Chicago.

 

Trying to have halfwits in Detroit run someone else’s offense is turning out exactly as you’d expect. No one with any real talent is going to want to come in and try to run someone else’s offense. The best will have their own offense.

[Motown Bombers]

John Morton is not a halfwit, in fact Ben Johnson wanted him. 

[Mr.TaterSalad]

 

 

[Motown Bombers]

He would probably be doing the Lions a favor. He has a big cap hit. He’s in bubble territory. 

[Mr.TaterSalad]

34 minutes ago, Motown Bombers said:

He would probably be doing the Lions a favor. He has a big cap hit. He’s in bubble territory. 

I agree on this one. I think Decker retiring would give them more cap flexibility, but they're going to have to spend that cap space on finding a Tackle. I'd assume Sewell would move to LT. I would hope they wouldn't simply count on Manu moving up to be the starter. 

[Sports_Freak]

Think he'll be back?

 

[Motown Bombers]

20 minutes ago, Sports_Freak said:

Think he'll be back?

 

I'll let you know next offseason. If the Lions miss the playoffs and LB is weak, then he will be the new Zeitler. If they re-sign him and they end up weak somewhere else, they shouldn't have re-signed him and should have been sacrificed like Brian Branch. 

[Sports_Freak]

29 minutes ago, Motown Bombers said:

I'll let you know next offseason. If the Lions miss the playoffs and LB is weak, then he will be the new Zeitler. If they re-sign him and they end up weak somewhere else, they shouldn't have re-signed him and should have been sacrificed like Brian Branch. 

So you think he'll be back for the 2026 season?

[number20]

3 hours ago, sagnam said:

The guy responsible for the historically good offense has propped up an average line and average running backs in Chicago.

Johnson didn't prop up anything - he cleaned house. Shelton, Jenkins, and Davis from last year's starting OL are all gone. He completely rebuilt a new one, and it's definitely not average. 3rd in pass blocking (86.8 efficiency), 4th in run blocking. Ranked 2nd overall by PFF in December. The interior is elite with Thuney and Dalman.

Ben Johnson was spoiled last year with an all-world veteran center, Decker mostly still playing at a high level, Sewell, solid guards, and depth. With so much talent, athleticism, and especially experience, he could run just about any play he wanted. And it would usually work.

He knew he'd have to recreate something similar in Chicago for his offense to work, so he did

Edited 4 hours ago by number20

[sagnam]

2 hours ago, number20 said:

Johnson didn't prop up anything - he cleaned house. Shelton, Jenkins, and Davis from last year's starting OL are all gone. He completely rebuilt a new one, and it's definitely not average. 3rd in pass blocking (86.8 efficiency), 4th in run blocking. Ranked 2nd overall by PFF in December. The interior is elite with Thuney and Dalman.

Ben Johnson was spoiled last year with an all-world veteran center, Decker mostly still playing at a high level, Sewell, solid guards, and depth. With so much talent, athleticism, and especially experience, he could run just about any play he wanted. And it would usually work.

He knew he'd have to recreate something similar in Chicago for his offense to work, so he did

How much is it scheme and how much is pure talent? Odd that Johnson just happens to have great lines. Odd that he happens to find 2 good backs. Sounds like he’s either really lucky or really good at finding gold with IOL and RB.

 

Or … he’s creative and has a knack for play design and sequencing. He's not infallible, look no further than the playoffs last year.