Lions Free Agency: What They Got Right — And What They Missed So Far

The Detroit Lions have made moves, but still have areas to address after the early part of free agency.

General manager Brad Holmes and head coach Dan Campbell have set out to get the team bank into the ranks of the contending after a last place finish in 2025. The team has made some intriguing additions, but there remains work to be done to get the team back to becoming favorites in the NFC.

Here’s what the Lions have gotten right, and what they’re still missing, after the start of free agency.

What the Lions have gotten right

The Lions attacked two of their biggest needs. While they haven’t made the biggest additions, they have added depth to their offensive line and secondary.

On the offensive line, the Lions got a potential long-term answer at center in Cade Mays, who agreed to a three-year deal on the first day of the legal tampering period. They also added tackle depth in veteran Larry Borom.

In those two players, the Lions have found potential replacements for Graham Glasgow and Taylor Decker. Both of those veterans were released this offseason, and Detroit is hoping that Mays and Borom can help restore some of the power that was missing up front last season.

Former Baltimore Ravens center Tyler Linderbaum was available, but he set the market at the position with a deal worth $27 million APY from the Las Vegas Raiders. As talented as Linderbaum is, it’s hard to fault the Lions for electing to not meet that number due to their current cap situation and desire to extend their own talented young players.

The Lions also identified the secondary as an area of need, and added Christian Izien and Roger McCreary to the mix. Both players have positional versatility and can help a unit that has been decimated by injury each of the last two seasons.

Detroit also made multiple prudent moves to retain its own talent, re-signing linebacker Malcolm Rodriguez and cornerback Rock Ya-Sin. Both players have the potential to be big contributors for the Lions’ defense in 2026.

The Lions in particular needed to retain Rodriguez due to the departure of Alex Anzalone. Having the talented linebacker, who started as a rookie but had his role decrease in part due to injury over the last couple of seasons, gives them a veteran to slide in with Jack Campbell and Derrick Barnes in base packages.

Detroit needed to find a David Montgomery replacement as well, as they traded him to the Texans. Jahmyr Gibbs is certainly one of the most talented backs in the league, but has worked best over his three seasons when the team has had a solid counterpart for him.

In Isiah Pacheco, the Lions hope to have found exactly that. Pacheco is a physical back who runs angry, and has the ability to add some power to complement Gibbs.

What the Lions still need

The most glaring need for the Lions remains the defensive end position, as the team is dangerously thin at that spot. Outside of Aidan Hutchinson, the Lions have very little in terms of experienced depth.

Given Holmes’ track record, the Lions could be in the market to find a one-year veteran solution. Al-Quadin Muhammad, who had 11 sacks last year, won’t return after signing a one-year deal with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers last week, and Marcus Davenport comes with plenty of health risks after being extremely limited in two years in Detroit.

As a result, the Lions need to find a solution to work opposite of Hutchinson, even if it is a veteran on a one-year deal, to give the team some depth at the very least. They could also be looking at a deep pool of EDGE prospects early in the draft.

Another area the Lions could look to is the interior defensive line. Roy Lopez signed with Arizona and DJ Reader remains a free agent, leaving Tyleik Williams and Levi Onwuzurike as the top options currently on roster alongside Alim McNeill.

Onwuzurike is more of a defensive end than a nose tackle, so targeting a nose tackle could be a move that benefits the Lions. Aside from other depth spots on offense, the most glaring needs for Detroit remain on the defensive line.