NFL insider’s comments show the Lions are considering going a route nobody expected in free agency
The Lions are about to go all in where they should be going all in
NFL free agency is 17 days away, and the Detroit Lions are expected to be active this year. But first, there’s the NFL Combine. Which brings us the annual pre-NFL Combine conference call with NFL Network’s draft expert and insider Daniel Jeremiah.
Usually, Jeremiah’s conference call is a good spot to learn about what the Lions might be leaning towards in the draft and who they might be keeping an eye on at the Combine. But this year, he gave us a little insider information that drastically changes the offseason plan as we think we know it.
The Detroit Lions are “doing a lot of homework on free agent offenisve tackles,” per Daniel Jeremiah
Up until now, the expectation has been that the Lions would mostly use free agency as a method to find their next center, and that is absolutely still on the table. But nobody considered that the Lions would look for a free agent tackle. This really tells us a few things.
First, the Lions may be expecting Taylor Decker to retire ahead of the new league year that starts on March 11th and coincides with the start of free agency. If and when that happens, the Lions will get some cap relief from it. They’ll save about $11.6 million. They can use that to find their next starting tackle.
The next thing this tells us is that the Lions want to go all in on the offensive line, and they may not have any desire to wait and see on a rookie tackle. They want guys who can play right now, and they’re willing to pay for that. This is a pretty big game-changer. If the Lions can walk out of free agency with a starting tackle and a starting center, well then, they’re on a gravy train with biscuit wheels. They can pretty much do whatever they want in the 2026 NFL Draft.
If that’s the case, Brad Holmes could get pretty dangerous there, being that he’s a guy who has already filled his top two biggest needs. This is where you can get into trade-up situations and where the Lions can take some major swings.
Now, just because they’re doing the homework does not automatically mean they’re going to come up with something they like. There are some decent free agent tackles this year, but don’t expect an elite one. But you can expect a solid starter.
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