Detroit Lions fans won’t want to hear this, but Brad Holmes probably deserves credit for not trading for a cornerback at the trade deadline
Brad Holmes finally explained why the Lions didn’t trade for a cornerback, and his reasoning makes sense when you look at the options around the NFL. Detroit needed an upgrade, not another rotational player, and the numbers show why standing pat may have been the right move.
The NFL trade deadline came and went last week, and the Detroit Lions made one move, trading with the Jets for safety Andre Cisco, who is expected to make his debut in Germany against the Patriots.
But the thing they didn’t do is what everyone really wants to talk about. They didn’t trade for a cornerback. The thing that everyone thought for sure they would do. They also didn’t trade for a linebacker either. That one always felt much less possible since the Lions do have a lot of depth there.
Here’s the thing on cornerback: I know Lions fans are going to be upset with me when I say it, but…
The Lions were wise to sit out the cornerback market, and Brad Holmes should probably get some kudos for it
Look, I know you’re going to be like, “What?!” and some of you will accuse me of being paid by the team or something like that. Just hear this out before you do that.
The Athletic’s Colton Pouncy scored an awesome exclusive with Holmes in Germany on Saturday, and I think Holmes’ explanation for not trading for a cornerback makes a world of sense when you consider what I’ve been writing about here since September.
“We’re very thorough and what we were looking for is, if we were going to add somebody, we would have had to add somebody that’s going to be an upgrade. Like, elevate the room,” Holmes said. “Not somebody that’s, kind of, you got to spend however much capital, potentially pay money for a player that would just — I don’t even know would be in the rotation.”
Really let that sink in. I talked about a lot of corners that the Lions could trade for, and one of the things I heard from fans a lot is that they didn’t want a rental.
The hope was always that if the Lions were going to trade for a cornerback, it would be a guy who could come in and be a long-term piece and a real deal upgrade over what the team has. Joey Porter would have been that. It didn’t work out.
No other actually available cornerback fit that bill
I know Lions fans are all hopped up on this idea that because some NFL insiders said a team wasn’t willing to trade a player and then did anyway, it means that anyone is available at any price, but that’s just not the real world we live in, and as I explained in another piece, that’s generally a team using an insider to drive a price up on a player they fully intend to trade.
The reality is that there probably were some cornerbacks available, but not a whole lot of them, and none of them fit the idea of an upgrade, and all of them fit the idea of working into a rotation.
| Team | Outside Cornerbacks | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Cardinals | Max Melton / Denzel Burke | Both are young developmental pieces. Arizona has more incentive to evaluate them for its future than trade inexpensive cornerback talent. |
| Falcons | Mike Hughes / A.J. Terrell Jr. | Terrell is a foundational defender on a major contract. Hughes is maybe more possible, but the Falcons are in the hunt in the NFC South. Why risk it? |
| Ravens | Marlon Humphrey / Nate Wiggins | Wiggins is a young first-round cornerstone. Humphrey is an established veteran Baltimore would be reluctant to lose while competing, even if his contract invites offers. |
| Bills | Christian Benford / Davison Igbinosun | The Bills are a Super Bowl contender with no reason to trade players away. |
| Panthers | Akayleb Evans / Will Lee III | Jaycee Horn and Mike Jackson are on injured reserve. |
| Bears | Jaylon Johnson / Malik Muhammad II | NFC North rivals. |
| Bengals | D.J. Ivey / D.J. Turner II | Bengals are contenders. |
| Browns | Denzel Ward / Tyson Campbell | The Browns are in first place in their division, and Ward has said he doesn’t want to leave. The Browns have publicly said they don’t want to trade him. Campbell is a young foundational piece. |
| Cowboys | DaRon Bland / Joey Porter Jr. | Bland is a core defensive playmaker. Dallas recently acquired Porter, making an immediate turnaround trade especially unlikely. |
| Broncos | Patrick Surtain II / Riley Moss | It would be a maybe on Moss or Barron if the Broncos weren’t 5-2 and contenders. |
| Packers | Keisean Nixon / Brandon Cisse | NFC North rivals. |
| Texans | Derek Stingley Jr. / Kamari Lassiter | Both are central to Houston’s defensive identity. Stingley is an elite cornerstone, and Lassiter is a young, productive starter. |
| Colts | Charvarius Ward / Sauce Gardner | Ward is essentially your best bet if you’re the Lions. Sauce Gardner is very unlikely to be traded. |
| Jaguars | Travis Hunter / Montaric Brown | Jags are contenders. |
| Chiefs | Nohl Williams / Mansoor Delane | Chiefs are contenders. Fulton is possible, but why upset the apple cart if you’re KC? |
| Raiders | Eric Stokes / Hezekiah Masses | Maybe Stokes, but you’re getting the 90th-ranked cornerback. |
| Chargers | Tarheeb Still / Cam Hart | Hart and Still are young contributors with developmental upside. There’s just no reason to move them. |
| Rams | Jaylen Watson / Trent McDuffie | The Rams believe they’re contenders. |
| Dolphins | JuJu Brents / Jason Marshall Jr. | Both are relatively young options in a rebuilding secondary. Miami has reason to continue evaluating them, although neither should be considered completely unavailable. |
| Vikings | Isaiah Rodgers / Byron Murphy Jr. | NFC North rivals. |
| Patriots | Carlton Davis III / Christian Gonzalez | Patriots are contenders. |
| Saints | Kool-Aid McKinstry / Quincy Riley | Both represent young, affordable talent. Even if New Orleans becomes a seller, retaining developing corners makes more sense than modest returns. |
| Giants | Deonte Banks / Greg Newsome II | Giants are in first place in the NFC East. |
| Jets | Azareye’h Thomas / Brandon Stephens | Stephens is a possibility to watch. |
| Eagles | Riq Woolen / Quinyon Mitchell | Mitchell and DeJean are untouchable. Woolen is the very best the Lions could do this year. He should be the top target. |
| Steelers | Asante Samuel Jr. / Jamel Dean | The Steelers just need guys in the room at this point. Plus, Jamel Dean has played well, and he’s their number one guy there. |
| 49ers | Renardo Green / Deommodore Lenoir | 49ers are contenders. |
| Seahawks | Devon Witherspoon / Josh Jobe | Seahawks are contenders. |
| Buccaneers | Zyon McCollum / Jacob Parrish | Bucs reportedly do not want to make trades right now. McCollum is the possible guy, but our Bucs beat writer has told us time and again they do not want to lose him. |
| Titans | Cor’Dale Flott / Joshua Williams | Neither of these guys is good. |
| Commanders | Rasul Douglas / Amik Robertson | Amik is not likely to be traded for, and the Commanders don’t have much more to offer. |
We printed this up a week and a half before the deadline and found that there just really wasn’t a market for cornerbacks outside of a few. Those few really don’t present much of an upgrade, and for some, it’s hard to say they fit the culture.
Riq Woolen felt like the big get, but we’re talking about the 76th-graded corner in the NFL right now per Pro Football Focus. He’s also a player who has had a fair share of character concerns and has even been benched for them in the recent past.
Both Donte Jackson and Charvarius Ward are in their 30s as well. Jackson has been dealing with a hamstring injury all season. Ward is rumored to be considering retirement. Although rumors can be just that — a rumor. Ward is the 60th-ranked corner, and Jackson is 95th-ranked.
Those were realistically the available guys. I know it upsets fans, but I think Holmes was right on for not trading for any of them.
The Lions do need help, but being desperate isn’t help
You might wonder how I can say out of one side of my mouth that I felt the Lions needed to make a trade and then on the other I’m saying they were right not to make one. The reality is that there just wasn’t one available for them to make that would have been a real positive for them.
I know it’s hard to see other NFC teams make big deals, but you have to note that all of those deals were for players at positions the Lions have already got figured out. That’s just what was for sale this year.
Had the Lions gotten desperate and shipped a third-round pick to the Eagles for the 76th-ranked corner who has documented character concerns, that feels like a pretty dumb move, doesn’t it? Like the Eagles would laugh all the way to the bank.
As for now, the Lions will have to make do with the 10th-highest-graded corner in D.J. Reed, the 66th in Roger McCreary, a fast-improving Ennis Rakestraw, who, despite not having enough snaps to be ranked, graded higher than all three guys we thought were available, and the 82nd-ranked corner in Rock Ya-Sin. Maybe we’ll also see Keith Abney start to move that way after the Cisco trade.
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