It’s almost that time again. With the new league year officially starting March 13, NFL teams are ramping up their offseason plans to retool their rosters heading into the 2024 season. The first step is NFL Free Agency, followed by the NFL Draft in Detroit. Speaking of Motown, the host city’s team was a few plays away from reaching the Super Bowl this year, winning two playoff games and reaching the NFC Championship game for the first time since 1992. With the team looking to retool and push to be contenders, there are several Detroit Lions offseason needs that must be accomplished.
Let’s examine three of these needs the Detroit Lions can tackle this offseason to get them their first Lombardi Trophy in franchise history.
Detroit Lions Offseason Needs That Must Be Accomplished
Extend Jared Goff and Amon-Ra St. Brown
This one’s pretty simple. When Jared Goff was sent over by the Los Angeles Rams via the Matthew Stafford trade three years ago, it seemed as if he would be utilized as a bridge quarterback. However, Goff has turned out to be a terrific surprise, excelling in offensive coordinator Ben Johnson’s system. Goff is experiencing a career renaissance in Detroit and is exactly the type of leader head coach Dan Campbell and general manager Brad Holmes want in their locker room. It was one of those rare trades that worked out for both teams, with the Rams going on to win a Super Bowl in their first year with Stafford. Since a dismal start of 0-10-1 in the first year of the Holmes/Campbell era, Goff has guided this team to regular season finishes of 9-8 and 12-5 over the last two seasons. In that span, he’s averaging 4,500 passing yards per year while throwing a total of 59 touchdowns and 19 interceptions.
After Goff exacted revenge on his former team with a 24-23 playoff victory over the Rams this postseason, his head coach said it best as he threw Goff the game ball in the locker room: “You’re good enough for f****** Detroit, Jared Goff!” This has been the perfect marriage, so not only do the Lions want Goff back, he also wants to return.
Goff signed his four-year, $134 million deal with the Rams ahead of the 2019 season. With new quarterback contracts re-setting the market each year, several are now making upwards of $50 million a year. Still, players getting those contracts are in a different tier than Goff. Even though getting him at $33.5 million per year again is unrealistic, I think the Lions could lock him up for three to four years for somewhere in the $40-$45 million per year range.
This is where Amon-Ra St. Brown comes in. The star wide receiver out of USC is also due for a payday heading into the fourth year of his rookie deal, and even after paying Goff, the Detroit Lions will have plenty of cap space to re-sign him. According to Spotrac, they currently rank sixth-highest with a cap space of just under $60 million, and they’ll sure have to shell out for “The Sun God.”
With the aforementioned shifting of the quarterback market, the wide receiver market has also skyrocketed. The blockbuster contract Tyreek Hill signed with the Miami Dolphins in 2022 pays him $30 million a year, setting a new precedent for elite receivers. A standout performer and true leader for this current era of Detroit Lions football, Holmes has no choice but to lock up Amon-Ra long-term. With Tampa Bay’s Mike Evans just receiving a two-year, $52M deal, expect St. Brown to garner between $25-30 million a year.
Shore Up the Detroit Lions Secondary
It’s no secret that Detroit’s secondary continues to be its biggest weakness. While the run defense excelled last season as a top-three unit, the pass defense gave up a porous 268 passing yards per game, good for sixth-worst in the NFL. After getting Goff and St. Brown new deals, improving the secondary is the biggest priority for the Detroit Lions this offseason.
Holmes made a valiant effort during last year’s NFL Free Agency period as he tried to overhaul the secondary, bringing in former Pittsburgh Steelers cornerback Cam Sutton, former 49ers cornerback Emmanuel Moseley and former Philadelphia Eagles safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson. Will Detroit give it another go with them and try to re-kindle their previous potential, or will they let one or two of them walk and try to piece it together with free agents and draft picks? Kirby Joseph and Ifeatu Melifonwu will return, but the Lions cut veteran safety Tracy Walker to free up $5.5 million in cap space. I think Moseley returns, but wouldn’t be surprised if Gardner-Johnson leaves, as he was brought in on a one-year deal.
A dream scenario would be a sign-a-trade with the Kansas City Chiefs for recently franchise-tagged All-Pro cornerback L’Jarius Sneed, who was instrumental in Kansas City’s championship run. Adding Sneed would instantly make the Detroit Lions a scary secondary. If not, the Lions could choose to target help in the first round of the draft, where they currently hold the 29th overall pick. If they remain there, some cornerback names to consider that might still be available include Toledo’s Quinyon Mitchell, Iowa State’s T.J. Tampa and Alabama’s Kool-Aid McKinstry.
Add Another Edge Rusher
Aidan Hutchinson has been fantastic, but the Detroit Lions would benefit greatly by adding another elite rusher off the edge. The NFL has become a league of great quarterback play, and being able to rush the quarterback is paramount in a pass-happy league. Even though Detroit has improved its pass rush, help is still needed opposite Hutch. James Houston showed flashes in his rookie season, but injuries last year made him unreliable. Josh Paschal, the 2022 second-round pick, has been inconsistent and hasn’t lived up to his draft price. John Cominsky has only six sacks combined his last two seasons and might not return. Though there is solid depth here, these players profile more as rotational/situational pieces, and the team could stand to make a splash to add more production across one of the most gifted young pass rushers in the league in Hutchinson. This season, his pass rush win rate of 21.9% ranked sixth amongst qualified defenders, and his 26 quarterback hurries ranked first. However, none of his teammates were even close to matching that.
So, what should they do? If nothing happens in free agency and the Lions don’t take a cornerback with the 29th pick, they could look to add an edge rusher there. Chop Robinson from Penn State would be a great fit, but he is very unlikely to fall that far. Another name to keep an eye on is Darius Robinson out of Missouri, but his stock is rising as well and Detroit could also miss out on him. This team definitely has some decisions to make, but what they can do in free agency will impact how they attack the draft. However they end up doing it, expect the Detroit Lions to fill the void for a second edge menace by the end of April.
Virtually, all teams have needs going into the offseason, but only a handful of them can say they are a few moves away from winning a Super Bowl. The Detroit Lions will learn from this season and only get better as they continue to mature in Year 4 of the Holmes/Campbell era. For once, this organization has finally gotten it right at the leadership position and is sniffing the most success they’ve had since the Eisenhower administration. Holmes has shown his prowess in the draft room and willingness to take fliers on free agents that fit with his culture. The Detroit Lions are finally contenders, and above everything else, Holmes knows his biggest need is fixing the secondary. If they can do that, everything else should fall into place and set them up as a top-three team in the NFC again.
