We got to hear from Detroit Lions general manager Brad Holmes on Wednesday for the last time until the end of the 2026 season, and we got to learn a few things about how the Lions planned for things before camp and where things could head after camp.

The Lions could go receiver shopping soon

We still don’t really know why the Lions parted with Greg Dortch, but if you’re reading the signs and the language, you come away thinking maybe the Lions are going to be on the lookout for more help there.

“Four is obviously a little bit on the lighter side. That’s just where we’re at right now today currently,” Holmes said.

There’s still some receivers out there, and we’ll go over some of those guys in another story, but it’s interesting to learn that maybe the Lions feel they’re not as deep as they could be there. As Holmes said, four is pretty light.

There’s still Tom Kennedy, Lucky Jackson, and Dominic Lovett on the practice squad, and those guys should get their opportunities as well. So this appears to be a pretty fluid situation.

Terrion Arnold stuff got a little contentious

You had to know there would be multiple Terrion Arnold questions going into this presser, and Holmes was fairly upfront about the situation while remaining understandably guarded. Holmes said the Lions began getting more and more information on the situation, and eventually they came to a point where they had to move on. That point was not shared.

Where things got contentious is that the Lions feel they have solid depth at corner, while some believe they didn’t do enough to replace a potential starter on the outside in Arnold.

From my personal point of view, I think the Lions actually got better at corner with Arnold gone. Rock Ya-Sin has looked a lot more complete than Arnold did in Detroit. Guys like Keith Abney, Roger McCreary, and Nick Whiteside have all fought really hard to show they’re not afterthoughts at all this summer.

Could the Lions maybe add someone at the trade deadline? That is definitely something to look into, but at this point they’re in good shape, and the fact is, the Lions didn’t really know how serious this Arnold situation was going to get until about May. Even if you think, with the benefit of hindsight, that it was easy to see where it would go.

The Lions came into the offseason wanting to add more pass rush juice

Lions fans wanted this more than anything going into the offseason, and the Lions listened.

“There was an emphasis to—we wanted to add more juice and more ability to get after the quarterback this past cycle,” Holmes said.

There’s no doubt the Lions did that. You could see it all summer, whether it was in preseason or training camp. The Lions are treating pressure in a different way right now. They’re still saying all the right things like “you have to earn the right to pass rush,” but the on-field product points more to making sure they get it done.

D.J. Wonnum, Derrick Moore, Ahmed Hassanein, Alim McNeill, and Skyler Gill-Howard all present exactly what fans have been wanting, and they all bring the juice. If the Lions can do that and stop the run, as they have placed a seemingly higher importance on, they’re going to be a tough out for any offense in the league.

The Pacheco situation doesn’t feel all that good

Holmes was asked if the decision to add Pacheco to the IR pointed to the idea that he could miss this season, and I’m not sure Holmes really answered that question.

“No, I think. Well, Pacheco, look, he’s doing everything that he can to get back. We’re still excited about him to get back, and he’s on. We didn’t use one of those spots (Reserve/IR) before the cutdowns, but he’s on there now,” Holmes said. “With that information we have, that’s what we decided to do.”

Look, I know what Holmes says here reads like “of course he’s coming back, Mike.” That may very well be the case, but reading it in the room, it kind of felt like a “well, what do you expect him to say?” type situation. We’ll see where it goes, but right now, it doesn’t feel super great.

Plans haven’t changed on Brian Branch and Sam LaPorta, but there are factors

Holmes said the Lions still want to make sure that they get extensions done for both Branch and LaPorta, but he did mention that there are some factors that they had to get out of the way first. Obviously, he didn’t tell us what those factors were, but if we’re thinking like a GM, at least one of those factors has to be the players showing that their injuries aren’t going to impact their play in any way.

Skyler Gill-Howard is going to be a big deal in Detroit

I was surprised how many times Gill-Howard came up in this presser. It’s clear that the Lions see him as someone they can really build upon in the coming years. What was cool to hear is that the Lions were impressed with much more of his game than the obvious pass-rushing talent.

“Guys like Gil Howard, that was one of the first things that you see when you watch his tape. My first thought was he could be an impact. You know, where do you call it like a DPR kind of sub-rusher? But because of his innate violence that he’s wired with, then he’s actually been a little bit better in the run game than probably what we even anticipated.”

That was kind of the thing that we thought about after he was drafted. It’s clear he can get after the quarterback, but can he stop the run? It would appear the Lions feel he’s getting better and better in that department.

The left guard battle is not over, and Holmes added fuel to that fire

Let’s start here: Dan Campbell never flat-out said Christian Mahogany has that job. He actually found many ways to say that he didn’t. On top of that, the Lions went out looking for more players at the position. Then, putting Ben Bartch on the roster despite a summer with injury issues shows that they still see him as an option there despite that.

Holmes also acknowledged that we never got the left guard battle it seemed like we would get, and that played a big role in the Lions keeping Bartch on the roster and keeping their eyes out. At this point, it would not be a shock if the Lions grabbed another guy there, and it wouldn’t be a shock if Mahogany is just one big mistake away from losing that spot.

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