The season is over for the Detroit Lions and now is the time to reflect on things a little bit and start thinking about the future. I know some fans just want to wallow in the loss and I get it. I did some wallowing myself. But you have to move on and move forward. 

Some fans might feel lost right now. How did this 15-2 season go from Super Bowl or bust to losing in the divisional round and thinking about mock drafts in January again? I think you all know the answer to that. 

What you want to know is should throw in the towel and worry that this might have been it for the Lions. I'm not one for towell throwing, so I'm going to give you three reasons to be optimistic about this team's future. Because I can be a realist, I'll give you two things to worry about too. 

Optimism 

This team is still young

You don't really think of them that way because some of these players are playing beyond where you'd think they'd be at this point, but this team is still very young. Specifically, the defense which is one of the youngest ones in the entire league. They dealt with a lot of injuries this year and that was bad, but they'll be back and healthy next year with a possible injection of more good players. 

The offense has a lot of time left too. They may need some help on the offensive line, but St. Brown, Gibbs, and Williams are still the future of this team. 

Money

The Lions aren't a team that was tied to a bunch of old players and in cap hell. They weren't the team throwing money at guys for one last shot at glory. The Lions have managed their cap very well. They're projected to have the eighth most cap space available this offseason.

Some of that will go to making sure Aidan Hutchinson, Kerby Joseph, and others get locked down on extensions, but they'll have enough left to wheel and deal.

Brad and Dan are still here

The Lions may lose Ben Johnson, Aaron Glenn, and other coaches this offseason, but the core of what made this rebuild what it is remains. Brad Holmes and Dan Campbell are the engines of this thing and as long as they're here, things will remain what you're used to them being. Coaching losses doesn't change the culture and this team has shown to have great contingency plans when needed. 

Worried

The offensive line might need big retooling

The fact is that Taylor Decker, Graham Glasgow, and Kevin Zeitler aren't getting any younger. We saw Decker struggle a lot this year and Glasgow did as well. Zietler might be on the verge of retiring this offseason too. 

The Lions do have Christian Mahogany and he's shown that he can take a starting role next year, but if Glasgow and Decker continue to regress, the Lions aren't really ready to make up for that yet. Giovanni Manu might be the future left tackle here, but he's not ready yet. 

The other NFC North teams aren't going to stop improving 

The Lions didn't lose a division game this year and that was awesome, but make no mistake all three rivals should be better in 2025. The Packers are the youngest team in the league and they have shown to be a perennial playoff team despite that. 

The Vikings could be great with J.J. McCarthy and the Bears offense is only going to get better with Caleb Williams improving. That means the Lions have to make sure they keep getting better too. 

Important dates to remember for the Detroit Lions in 2025, When the Lions need to make their Jameson Williams decision, free agency and more

The Detroit Lions season is over and it totally sucks, but now it’s time to look to the future. Here are some important dates for the Lions this year. Let's jump into it:  January 30th This is the East vs West Shrine Bowl. The Lions will definitely have a contingent of guys on site for […]