‘There’s still discussions to be had about that one.’ Lions may not be bringing back former second-round pick

The Lions are going to have to think long and hard about this one

Mike Payton — Detroit Lions Beat Writer
Add as preferred source on Google
David Reginek-Imagn Images

As we know, the Detroit Lions have been doing some work on the defensive line at the 2026 NFL Combine. They’ve already met with some prominent names and may have already met with the guy we think is the perfect fit for them.

With that in mind, it brings up some questions about guys who are already on the team. More precisely, it brings up questions about guys we didn’t even know were still on the team until a few weeks ago.

Things do not look great for Josh Paschal’s future with the Lions

Just a few weeks ago we learned that due to some quirks in the NFL’s Collective Bargaining Agreement, both Paschal and Levi Onwuzurike, who never played in 2025, will stay with the Lions because of Article 20, Sections 2 and 3 of the CBA states that if a player is put on the physically unable to perform list or the Non Football Injury list and they don’t come off of it past Week 6, their contract essentially gets pushed back a year.

So the contracts they were supposed to get paid in 2025, move to 2026. Those, of course, are just options for the Lions. It doesn’t mean those are options that they have to take.

Lions general manager Brad Holmes was asked about both Onwuzurike and Paschal on Tuesday at the NFL Combine, and he had this to say:

“…With Levi and Josh, obviously Levi, we’ll be able to bring him back, and then Josh will have the ability to bring him back as well. There’s still discussions to be had about that one, but yes, it’s a possibility.”

If you’re reading that the way I’m reading it, I see the Lions leaning more towards bringing back Onwuzurike, who, despite missing the 2025 season with a torn ACL, played really well in 2024 and was a key piece of the line that year. He’s someone the Lions may want to get another look at as a rotational piece.

But it also sounds like there is some second-guessing going on with Paschal. The former second-round pick has dealt with injuries since the Lions drafted him in 2022, and it has stunted his growth. He got to start 10 games in 2024 after Aidan Hutchinson went down, but his production never really got to where the Lions hoped it would.

In 2025, he started off camp on the NFI after having back surgery to repair a disc issue and then returned to practice to open up his 21-day window in November. At the end of the month, when that window expired, the Lions chose not activate him because they felt he had not fully recovered.

The question now is whether or not Paschal can return to football, or if the Lions simply want to go a different direction. We’ll find out soon enough. As for now, Paschal is on the roster.

Related Articles