Detroit Lions Mailbag: Can the Lions still pay guys after Gibbs? Concerns on the offensive line? What are the real concerns? Is cornerback set?
Can the Detroit Lions still afford Sam LaPorta and Brian Branch after paying Jahmyr Gibbs? What’s the biggest concern on the roster? Is cornerback actually set? We answer those questions and more in this week’s mailbag.
The Detroit Lions are nearly a week into training camp, and it’s time for the first mailbag of the summer. Lions fans had plenty of questions about the roster, the cap, the cornerback situation, and more. Let’s jump right into it.
Can Brad Holmes retain Sam Laporta and Brian Branch after extending Jahmyr Gibbs?
The answer to the first part is yes, absolutely. The Lions can get all of this done because of how they structure their deals. Detroit consistently front-loads guaranteed money while keeping early cap hits low. You also have to consider that Gibbs’ new deal wouldn’t actually go into place until 2028. The Lions still have one more year of his rookie contract in 2026, plus his fifth-year option in 2027. So the extension doesn’t kick in until 2028. Branch and Laporta are both under contract for 2026, meaning their extensions wouldn’t start until 2027 at the earliest.
The Lions could also restructure Goff or St. Brown to open up additional cap space. And there’s the unfortunate beauty of not needing to extend anyone significant from the 2024 draft class. Terrion Arnold is no longer here. Ennis Rakestraw could potentially get an extension down the line, but it won’t be a massive one. The Lions simply don’t have the same extension pressure from that class that they had from the 2023 group, which is actually a really good problem to have solved.
As for Kerby Joseph, no, moving on from him is not what makes the plan work. Would it make things marginally easier? I guess, kind of, but not by much. The way his deal is structured, the Lions aren’t saving significant money by cutting him. A lot of his contract is guaranteed. The Lions can absolutely get the Branch and Laporta deals done without moving Joseph, and I’m sure they will. At this point, and I’m not reporting anything here, just going off a feeling, I think both extensions are probably going to be closer to in-season things. Similar to how Detroit has handled it with David Montgomery, Alim McNeill, and Aidan Hutchinson.
Any concerns about the offensive line?
Not at all. This unit is coming together nicely. I can only think of a few times sacks have happened. They’ve been stout. They look good in the run game. The only real question is who’s going to play left guard, and we just don’t know yet.
There are still things this group needs to figure out: communication, timing, the nuances of movement. It’s only been six days. But from what I’ve seen, I don’t think there’s anything to be concerned about. The defensive line isn’t punishing them. Aidan Hutchinson is a problem, but we knew that. Blake Miller is having your classic rookie growing pains. And I haven’t written Tate Ratledge’s name yet through six days of camp, which I think says more good than bad. If I’m writing about any of these offensive linemen beyond the little stuff, something bad happened. That hasn’t been the case.
What’s the biggest concern on the roster?
Right now it’s the linebacker room. I thought things were pretty figured out with Jimmy Rolder, who looked like he was going to beat out Malcolm Rodriguez for the starting job alongside Jack Campbell and Derrick Barnes. But Rolder’s injury, even though it doesn’t seem to be a long-term issue, has put him behind the eight ball.
Rodriguez isn’t horrible. I just don’t know if he’s a starting linebacker at this point. And I know Lions fans are excited about Devin White, but White hasn’t been the player you remember from Tampa Bay since he was in Tampa Bay. So far, so good in camp, though. He’s been really good against the run. I’d like to see more of him in coverage, but I haven’t seen a whole lot of that just yet.
Beyond those guys, Trevor Nowaske is decent but only in one spot, and Troy Reeder is more of a special teams player. Right now I feel like Rodriguez is probably the Week 1 starter at Will linebacker, with White as a possibility, but there are a lot of questions that need to be answered in the next few weeks.
That’s really the only big concern. The secondary looks good. The defensive line is playing well. The offensive line is playing well. The receivers look great. You’d love to have Gibbs back at running back, but Isaiah Pacheco looks good, and Jacob Saylors has been playing well. It’s only been six days, though. More concerns could pop up.
Are the Lions really going with what they have at cornerback?
At this point, I think the Lions genuinely feel good about what they have. That’s a little shocking, because not a writer in that building walked into camp feeling great about the cornerback depth behind the starters.
Now everybody’s looking at Ennis Rakestraw and saying he looks a lot better than expected. And then there’s Nick Whiteside, who looks dramatically better than anyone thought he would. Should the Lions add one more veteran? Maybe it wouldn’t hurt. But no team with a good cornerback has any reason to move off of him right now.
What makes the most sense for Detroit is waiting until after training camp, seeing who gets cut, and grabbing a guy off the street. Then, if they still need a cornerback at the trade deadline, they can look at teams that know they’re not making the playoffs and might be heading toward a rebuild. But talking to Dan Campbell about the position, he feels good about where it stands. I don’t see the Lions making a trade anytime soon.
Will Dan Campbell and Brad Holmes get extensions before their contracts expire after 2027?
I think if the Lions go out and have a great season, make the playoffs, and win a playoff game, both Campbell and Holmes will get extended. Even if they don’t win the Super Bowl. If they just rebound and have a better year, I think it happens.
There’s a lot of trust in what Campbell and Holmes are doing. Sheila Ford Hamp loves them, Martha loves them, everybody in the organization is fully bought in. The only scenario where anything changes is if the Lions have an absolute disaster of a season: the wheels fall off, everybody gets hurt, they lose double-digit games, and they win only four or five. Even then, I feel like most of the pressure to move on would be external, coming from fans and media, rather than internal from ownership.
Which player and coach are your favorites to talk to on media day?
For players, I actually really enjoy listening to and talking to Jared Goff. He has a sense of humor that’s very dry, almost hidden. He’s sarcastic and witty in a way where sometimes you might not even realize he’s trying to be funny, but he is. I like to laugh when we talk to these guys.
Kerby Joseph is another one. He’s not dry at all. That guy is flat-out hilarious and constantly going to make you laugh. And Jameson Williams has the most infectious energy. He’s just so happy about everything.
For coaches, Tashard Choice is really funny. Special teams coordinator Dave Phipps is always good for a quote and always informative. And you can’t hate talking to Dan Campbell. He makes my job incredibly easy. Matt Patricia and Jim Caldwell mostly just said the same things over and over again and clearly did not enjoy talking to the media. Campbell actually kind of likes it.
The easier question would be who I don’t like talking to. I’m not going to give you those answers, but there are far fewer people on that list.
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