The Lions are so committed to their new blueprint they turned down one of the top pass rushers available
What is the Lions blueprint and how committed are they to it?
Has anyone noticed that the Detroit Lions are doing things way differently right now? Of course you have. Hop onto social media, and you’ll see a lot of Lions fans wondering what the heck is going on right now.
The answer is actually pretty simple. The Lions are going about this offseason in two ways. Let’s break them down.
Youth Movement with Value
The Lions have lost a bunch of players in the last couple of weeks. What do we know about all of those players? Well, except for a few guys, they were all in their 30s and close to the end of their NFL careers.
This is the perfect time for the Lions to get younger and to look for players who bring big value to them. If you look at everything the Lions have done in free agency so far, you’ll see a bunch of guys in their mid 20s coming to Detroit at bargain prices.
These players aren’t nobodies because they’re not some of the top names in the class. These are good players who are either going to start for the Lions or be premium depth options. We can talk all day long about the moves the Lions aren’t making, but the ones they are have all been good.
Waiting out markets
If you’re paying close attention, you can see what’s happening here. Friday was really the perfect day to show it. The secondary defensive back market hadn’t been moving for a few days, and then one team signed a safety. After that, you saw a bunch of DB’s begin to fly off the shelf. Including Roger McCreary to the Lions.
On the same day, you saw the tight end market begin to move again, and then the Lions signed Tyler Conklin.
So everyone is wondering about edge rushers and when the Lions will sign one. Well, that market hasn’t moved in days. An edge rusher hasn’t been signed since former Lions edge Al-Quadin Muhammad signed with the Buccaneers. There are a lot of really good veterans left on the board, but the market has not moved on these guys, who are likely to sign for one-year deals. Once it does, the Lions will probably get involved.
The Lions are playing it safe here. They have a chance to grab one of these veterans, another younger guy, and then they’ll probably load up with more defensive linemen in the draft. Value and youth. It’s the way they’re going.
Speaking of Muhammad…
“I don’t really know (with) Detroit (or) how they thought about it or exactly what went into it, and I don’t really care,” Muhammad said. “I’m in Tampa, and I’m happy to be in Tampa. And if I’m not mistaken, they’re on a schedule this year, so I’m excited about that.”
So the Lions turned down one of the top edge rushers left on the market. A guy who notched 11.5 sacks in 2025. It’s not like he was expensive. He got a one-year deal for $6 million. That’s $4 million less than what was projected. This just shows how committed the Lions are to this.
Will it work? We’re going to have to wait and see on that. The Lions need to make sure they have a killer draft, and they have to stay healthy in 2026. It has to happen. If these things don’t happen, Brad Holmes could be in some hot water.