There is no other way to put it. Brad Holmes and the Detroit Lions failed in last year’s offseason.

I get what they were trying to do. You come off a 15-2 season that was derailed by injuries, you might think, “Well, let’s get these guys back healthy and fine-tune a few things, and we’re good to go.” I can’t fault them for feeling that way, because I agreed with that line of thinking to a degree.

But still, the thought was that the Lions would at least strengthen their defensive line, maybe add some offensive line pieces, and get a receiver. These were the expected things. The Lions did something for all of them, but it wasn’t enough.

Now we enter what is no doubt the most consequential offseason of the Dan Campbell and Holmes era. They cannot sit on their hands again and play it safe. That doesn’t mean they have to spend the most money. We know that is not the way to go, and it rarely works. But they need to be more aggressive and more intentional.

All signs point to that happening. Let’s talk about those signs.

Brad Holmes is very aware that he messed up

“…Bottom line is if we’re not in the dance and we’re not competing for a championship, it’s a failure. So, it’s a lot of things that we’re going to have to take a long, hard look at. But before I look at anything, I’m looking at myself. So, I have to do a better job.” Holmes said in January.

“Obviously, haven’t been good enough, and look, I’m always going to look inwards. So, early stages but already started to identify some things that I can definitely do better, and we’re going to collectively just have to look at everything from top to bottom and just really be honest and just take that long, hard look. And really, that’s probably the only light that may come out of this darkness, I would say. When you have these kinds of results, you don’t have a choice. You’re forced to look at everything long and hard and truthful and honestly…”

That says a lot if you ask me. I covered Bob Quinn and Matt Patricia and watched them tell you it was your lying eyes and that the Lions were actually doing everything the right way. I don’t recall a time when they admitted they got it wrong. So this is a step in the right direction.

With that said, being aggressive does not mean signing the most expensive players or making a bunch of splashes. Holmes said so himself.

“Honestly, a lot of the things that we’ll look at and a lot of the changes and tweaks and adjustments that we will make probably won’t come with a headline. But that’s not to say that we won’t do something that’s in that ‘splash’ category.”

But you should expect the Lions to do much more than just fine-tuning. They need to take swings this year. It has to happen.

They’ll have the money

We know Detroit will have cap space, just based on the way Jared Goff’s contract is structured. The Lions can restructure it and free up $40 million, and the fact that they can do the same with Amon-Ra St. Brown, Penei Sewell, and Alim McNeill suggests the Lions planned to have a lot of money this offseason.

It is important to note that just because they can do a restructure, that doesn’t mean they’re guaranteed to do them all. But we’re talking about $70 million in gains. And that is before the potential retirements of Taylor Decker and Graham Glasgow retirements could add nearly another $20 million.

The market is set up well at positions of need

The Lions need to come out of this offseason with a center, a left tackle, an edge rusher, a tight end, and some secondary help. They won’t find the tackle in free agency, but everything else is well-stocked right now.

The Lions should be able to find their center, assuming at least one or two of the top guys actually hit the market. There are good edge options, and the tight end spot is deep. The Lions can find good secondary depth and maybe a new starter in the slot.

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