It’s no secret that the Detroit Lions attempted to get a little younger this offseason. And as a result, they have one of the youngest rosters in the NFL. According to Philly Voice, Detroit’s initial 53-man roster had an average age of 26.0 years old, good for eighth-youngest in the NFL. Bill Speros did his own calculations, and the Lions placed seventh in youngest rosters. In both rankings, the Lions were just behind the Green Bay Packers.
For youth and financials reasons, the Lions said goodbye
to several veteran players, including Taylor Decker, Graham Glasgow, Alex Anzalone, Amik Robertson, DJ Reader, and Kalif Raymond. Their offseason approach was to replace those players with younger, cheaper options.
“I look at myself, I look at the staff, and then certainly, the players. Where can we get better?” Campbell said at the owners meetings this year. “Do we need to get younger in some areas? (I) felt like we needed to get younger in some areas.”
Youth brings plenty of advantages. It’s usually more cost-efficient, and it allows you to mold players into the kind of football players you want. Young players are also in the athletic prime of their careers.
But Campbell was quick to point out that adding youth comes with its challenges, too.
“Certainly we’re younger than we were and there are good things about that, the youth, and then there’s things about it that we’re going to have to work through,” Campbell said. “Because as you know, it’s about—there’s going to be a learning curve for some guys, development and how fast they can go.”
Still, there’s a pervasive belief that the Lions’ window is shrinking, closing, or closed. And, sure, the talented core of their players are both aging and expensive. But Detroit is clearly doing everything in their power to complement that core with young talent, as well.
