In an offseason like this for the Detroit Lions, it is almost surprising to see a miss on the board.

From bringing in new talent on both sides of the ball to restructuring the right deals to make more money to go for the playoffs now, Brad Holmes and his front office have been one of the best units in the NFL.

Still, even the best units fall short from time to time, and it looks like they missed in a big way with free agent wide receiver DJ Chark.

Chark always looked like a long shot to re-sign based on the likelihood that the team wouldn't be able to meet his price on the open market, but the deal that the young WR just signed with the Panthers tells a different story.

Contract terms: DJ Chark will sign a 1-year, $5M guaranteed deal with the #Panthers, per source.

A chance to team up with Adam Thielen and hit free agency again next offseason when he's still 27 years old.

— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) March 24, 2023

The Lions really couldn't make this deal? Especially after seeing how good Chark was in that offense last season? This was a player that they couldn't give $5M to?

Even the guaranteed money isn't ridiculous for a guy like this. Sure, he was probably going to be the WR3, but why not pay him when he knows the system and has chemistry built with his teammates?

This feels like one of those moves that the Lions will want back down the road. Choosing not to make this deal has easily been the biggest mistake by this front office all offseason.