The Detroit Lions open the 2026 season against the New Orleans Saints on Sunday, and the road to Week 1 has been anything but quiet. From coaching staff overhauls to a new offensive coordinator, the Taylor Decker saga, free agency moves, a draft class already being asked to contribute, and the Terrion Arnold situation, this Lions offseason reshaped the roster and the culture around the building. Let’s set the table and talk about how Detroit got here.

Coaching changes and the Decker divorce

The 2025 season ended with a 9-8 record. Not what anyone expected from a team with Super Bowl aspirations. Shortly after the season ended, the Lions let go of offensive coordinator John Morton and began their search for a replacement. They landed on Drew Petzing out of Arizona, then added Mike Kafka as the passing game coordinator. The offensive coaching staff got a significant facelift. Defensively, things mostly stayed the same.

Then came the Taylor Decker situation. During the NFL Scouting Combine, Decker decided to come out of retirement. Even with Decker back, it was clear the Lions needed tackle help badly. About a week later, the two sides broke up over a contract disagreement. Detroit wanted Decker to take a pay cut. He didn’t want to take one. He became a free agent, and here we are in September with Decker still unsigned.

The Senior Bowl, the draft, and a return to form

Going back to January, the Senior Bowl was the first time Derrick Moore really popped. He was blowing up dudes in practice, and it felt like a fit for the Lions from that moment. I mocked Moore to Detroit right then and there, and I’m going to go ahead and pat myself on the back for that one.

Free agency brought center Cade Mays and a philosophy of getting younger everywhere. Christian Izien, Roger McCreary, Greg Dortch. I thought the Lions had a good free agency period, even though some fans were hoping they’d break the bank or make a blockbuster trade. The big trade they did make was sending David Montgomery away, ending the Sonic and Knuckles era. The Lions are invested in making Jahmyr Gibbs their bell cow, their every-down back. We’ll see what that looks like soon enough.

Then came the draft, and this one felt different. Blake Miller at right tackle. Derrick Moore. Jimmy Rolder. Keith Abney as a steal in the fifth round. Skyler Gill-Howard in the sixth. This was a return to form for Brad Holmes. For the first time in a while, none of these picks felt purely developmental. You could see a world where all of them play soon. This draft class is being asked to matter more than any other class the Lions have had, and there’s already a lot of trust being placed in these guys.

A culture shift and the Arnold situation

After the draft, the Lions started changing how they operated. They canceled rookie minicamp. No more joint practices. They made it harder for the media to figure out who they were talking to before the draft, changed how they communicated things, and took an all-business approach. There was no doubt about it: the Lions were embarrassed by what happened during the 2025 season, and they responded.

Then Terrion Arnold’s situation surfaced. He was arrested in Florida, and the situation kept getting worse through the spring. After a pretrial hearing, the Lions released Arnold within what felt like an hour. The question became what Detroit would do at cornerback, and honestly, I think they’re in a better position with Rock Ya-Sin starting than they would have been with Arnold. We can’t do revisionist history on Arnold. There were times where he looked good, but the majority of the time he looked bad, was a penalty problem, and had a lot of issues.

Training camp felt different

This was the least violent training camp I’ve ever seen from this team. Barely any hitting, no tackling to the ground. The Lions clearly took injuries way more seriously than they ever have. Dan Campbell felt different all summer. More driven, more goal-oriented. Less joking around. He’s still a funny guy, still fun to interview and be around, but you could feel that he wants to get things done. He doesn’t want to mess around. I felt that more this summer than at any point during Campbell’s tenure as Lions coach. You felt it from Brad Holmes too.

Even the roster cuts told you something. The Lions didn’t reveal who they were cutting until about an hour before the deadline. Part of that is because this may have been the deepest team they’ve ever had, and these were probably the hardest cuts they’ve ever had to make.

Now here we are. The season starts Sunday. What an offseason for the Detroit Lions. Lots of big moments, lots of change. But that’s what led them to where they are, and we’ll see how it all comes together against New Orleans.

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