It is safe to say that after the letdown that was 2025, the Detroit Lions needed to hit reset in 2026. They did not require a major overhaul, but there was a clear need to add affordable talent. With limited capital in terms of salary and draft picks, it was going to be a difficult offseason for general manage Brad Holmes to navigate.
With the 2026 NFL Draft in the rearview mirror, have we finally achieved some clarity? Sure, training camp battles will be had for a handful of starting and depth positions,
but as the roster slowly creeps to 90 players, the only changes upcoming will be modest. This is essentially our first true look at the 2026 Detroit Lions.
Is that roster good enough to not only return to the playoffs, but make a Super Bowl run?
Today’s Question of the Day is:
Are you satisfied with the Detroit Lions’ offseason?
My answer: I am.
There are certainly a few moves that I was uncomfortable with at the time (releasing Taylor Decker, trading David Montgomery, losing Amik Robertson in free agency), but I feel that Detroit did an optimal job of filling those voids.
At offensive tackle, I initially questioned the signing of Larry Borom, but drafting Blake Miller allows Borom to slide into a more natural swing tackle role—he is also an upgrade over Dan Skipper. Miller, meanwhile, is about as perfect of a replacement for Decker as you could get. He has talent, grit, and best of all, his salary is a fraction of what veteran starting-caliber tackles cost in free agency.
It was only natural for Jahmyr Gibbs to claim the RB1 role ahead of Montgomery, but I was still surprised to see him jettisoned to the Houston Texans. That being said, I think signing Isiah Pacheco is a solid prove-it deal for the former Chief. As for the return for Montgomery, I am intrigued by Juice Scruggs as the Lions’ backup center, while the 2026 fourth-round pick was used to move up for edge Derrick Moore, another player that will have my attention in training camp.
Losing Robertson was tough for Detroit, but he earned a sizeable contract with the Washington Commanders that the Lions were unlikely to match. Detroit answered his vacancy with two stellar transactions: signing Roger McCreary to a $1.4 million deal and selecting Keith Abney in the fifth round of the draft. Both of these players offer extremely high upside for a miniscule cost.
I think that there is a genuine discussion about whether the Lions improved this offseason or whether their moves were more lateral. I’m not in that boat myself, since I think the Lions unquestionably upgraded at center (Cade Mays over Graham Glasgow, plus Scruggs at backup), edge (Moore and DJ Wonnum), safety (Christian Izien and Chuck Clark as depth), and backup quarterback (Teddy Bridgewater over Kyle Allen). Of Detroit’s offseason departures, I only really see losing Alex Anzalone and Roy Lopez as downgrades. Even then, I think the Lions have enough candidates at linebacker (Malcolm Rodriguez, Damone Clark, and Jimmy Rolder) and defensive tackle (Levi Onwuzurike, Skyler Gill-Howard, and Jay Tufele) to make for a worthwhile training camp battle.
The Lions entered the offseason with a lot of questions, but now that the draft and the bulk of free agency are behind us, are you satisfied with how Detroit restocked for 2026? Let us know in the comments below.
