Something Brad Holmes keeps saying this summer could have a big impact on Giovanni Manu’s future with the Lions
Really makes you think
There’s just something about a good catch in the sports media world. I’m not talking about a catch that a receiver would make; I’m talking about a catch that a reporter would make. Pride of Detroit’s Jeremy Reisman, my friend and old boss, had one heck of a catch on Thursday morning. He noticed that in every Brad Holmes interview during training camp, he kept saying a variation of the same thing.
”What’s gotten really hard—and it’s really been visible this year—is that in the past, especially in our first couple years, we had a lot of just young, developmental players that we really liked and we had a lot of room for. And as the guys have made these leaps and bounds and the talent has gotten better, it’s hard to always find room for those young, developmental guys.”
This quote comes from the Kay Adams show, but Reisman noted that he said a variation of the same thing on Kevin Clark’s show on ESPN and on 97.1 The Ticket.
This might make you wonder what it means for a lot of the undrafted free agents the Lions like to target. Does it mean that they will now grab fewer of those players? Does it mean that if they do, they’ll have a harder time trying to make the 53-man roster? Probably more of a yes to the latter.
What caught my attention is the developmental aspect of things. The Lions are known to take chances on guys like that as of late. Brodric Martin, Colby Sorsdal, and Giovanni Manu come to mind immediately. The first two of those players are likely to be gone next week, but what does this mean for Manu? The most clear-cut developmental project on the Lions roster — a guy they traded up to get in last year’s draft.
I can tell you pretty comfortably that it doesn’t mean the Lions will move on from this project this summer. Manu has shown a lot of improvement, and he’s earned the right to be on the 53-man roster. However, it feels like the pressure may be on going forward. If there are so many good players on this team that you need to make sure there’s room for all of them, how long can you hold onto a project player that doesn’t ever play? It kind of feels like Manu has the rest of the summer and this regular season to grow and impress, and then he needs to show major strides in 2026.
Granted, Holmes didn’t say that the Lions would just end all their projects, and he also didn’t say that they would never have one again. But these comments feel like ones you should note for the future. This team keeps getting better, and the decisions will keep getting harder.
Detroit Lions News
3 Lions who could be traded instead of cut before Tuesday’s cutdown and what Detroit could get back
Everyone is trading right now, the Lions might get in on this
