In four of Bob Quinn's five years as GM of the Lions, the club made a splash or two in free agency.
There was Marvin Jones ($40 mm) in 2016, Rick Wagner ($47.5 mm) and T.J. Lang ($28.5 mm) in 2017, Trey Flowers ($90 mm) and Justin Coleman ($36 mm) in 2019 and Halapoulivaati Vaitai ($45 mm) and Jamie Collins ($30 mm) in 2020. $317 million invested in seven players.
Don't expect the Lions to spend like that in their first offseason under GM Brad Holmes and head coach Dan Campbell. Holmes and Campbell have no illusions about the size of this rebuild. They know the Lions aren't a free agent or two away from contention. And they want to build through the draft, anyway.
That said, the Lions have holes to address and an identity to begin molding. So they're looking for free agents who will help the team to both.
"Anybody that we bring in right now is going to need to be able to set a tone for us here," Campbell said Tuesday.
As far as needs, Campbell pointed to wide receiver and cornerback. Detroit's only receiver under contract who played last season is 2020 fifth-round pick Quintez Cephus, though this could change depending on the fate of Kenny Golladay. And Campbell hinted Tuesday that Coleman and Desmond Trufant could be cut in the coming days, leaving Amani Oruwariye and Jeff Okudah as the team's only returning corners. Both Campbell and Holmes referenced O-line depth as well.
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"We’ll find a way to address some of these spots, and if it’s got to be some of these free agents that maybe aren’t quite as talented, but man, they are gritty, salty guys that know how to compete and they’ll hold their own in there, then we’ll find those guys," Campbell said. "That’s who will help us in the meantime.”
Campbell said he wants to make sure the Lions plug enough holes in free agency so that Holmes isn't compelled to "chase positions in the draft." And in terms of finding the right players, he said the 'fit' will be as important as talent, echoing his words from his introductory press conference: "Talent can be overrated."
"Brad and I have talked about this. Whoever we bring in here, when it comes to the draft or free agency, it needs to be somebody we love, somebody where it's almost unanimous that we love this guy. We know who this guy is, we know what he’s about. We know what his role is, because that’s just as important. What is the fit? This guy can be one of the greatest players you’ve ever seen, but if he doesn’t fit us and we don’t know what to do with him or where to put him, it does us no good," Campbell said. "That’s where we’re at right now."
With that in mind, Campbell said the Lions will be drawn to players who have a background with the team's new coaching staff/front office.
"Brad and I talk about this all the time. It’s not even so much (you know what) they can do, it's you know what their downside is. In free agency you don’t always know what all the warts are. You do when you’ve been with these guys, and sometimes you’re harder on your own guys when you’re around them longer. So if there’s guys out there from other teams that our coaching staff, our personnel department, our GM, our assistant GM has history with where we know them and we trust that they're our type of guys, yeah, I would say that would be pretty intriguing," Campbell said.
Ultimately, the Lions are looking for players who can add competition to their roster and the right attitude to their locker room. And Campbell said they won't be afraid to attack the same position in free agency and the draft.
"You’re looking to bring in guys that either can compete to start, even if it’s for a year, or they’re going to push a young player and make them have to earn that spot and get better," he said.
The splash moves will come in time. But until those moves can put the team over the top, it sounds like Campbell and Holmes will stick to a slow-and-steady approach in building Detroit's roster.
"We’re not going to be in this mad rush or panic to get into the game with everybody else," Campbell said. "We’ll find a way to make this work. It might not always be pretty, but we’ll find guys that know how to compete and can hold their own for a little bit, one way or another, while we get up on our feet.”