Sports Illustrated: Nobody Has Done Better than Lions in Free Agency

Detroit Lions earned high marks regarding their free-agency decisions.

John Maakaron | Mar 31, 2023

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Detroit Lions

The Detroit Lions have received universal praise regarding their offseason decisions.

Even though their top two free agents eventually departed, the efforts made to revamp the defense have caught the attention of fans and media pundits alike.

The team has added multiple starters in the secondary, and is seeking to create competition at multiple different positions.

As a result, expectations have never been higher heading into a new season.

"You keep stacking a little bit of talent, you keep upgrading, you keep bringing in reinforcements, and the foundation is here," said Lions head coach Dan Campbell at the league meetings. "Then, you bring in guys who are like-minded about winning and can play some ball, and can help you in areas, I think it's hard to fail."

Sports Illustrated recently graded all 32 NFL teams based on their free-agency signings.

The Lions earned an A+ grade, which was aided by the surprise signing of defensive back C.J. Gardner-Johnson.

"Nobody has done a better job than the Lions to this point. Detroit ranked 32nd in yards per play against last year, and general manager Brad Holmes went to work, bringing in a trio of quality pieces for the secondary," writes Matt Verderame. "The Lions also replaced Williams with Montgomery, maintaining a good backfield. And they did all of this without tying up much cap space in future years."

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Published Mar 31, 2023

JOHN MAAKARON

John Maakaron has covered Detroit Sports since 2013. Brings a vast array of experience covering the Detroit Tigers, Detroit Lions, Michigan Wolverines, Michigan State Spartans, Detroit Mercy Titans, and Oakland University Golden Grizzlies. John brings a wealth of sports broadcast experience. In 2013, John had the vision to establish the Detroit Sports Podcast Network. Has recorded over 3000 podcasts analyzing Detroit Sports. In 2019, Sports Illustrated Media Group, a historical sports media outlet, partnered with Detroit Sports Podcast to provide daily Lions content for their growing and expanding digital media outlet. Our Lions content can also be read in the newspaper at The Oakland Passionate about Detroit Sports and it is reflected in his coverage of the local teams!