Once upon a time, NFL teams never made trades within their division. That way of thinking is dead in the NFC North, where Lions GM Brad Holmes and Vikings GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah have swung two trades with each other this year.
The second came Tuesday when the Lions sent tight end T.J. Hockenson and draft picks to the Vikings for a second-round pick in 2023 and a third-rounder in 2024. Holmes knows Hockenson might burn the Lions in the future, maybe as soon as next month when the Vikings visit Ford Field. He's willing to take that risk for the potential reward in the draft.
"T.J. is a good football player," Holmes said Wednesday. "And the next time we play him, he’ll still be a good football player and he’ll make some plays and score a touchdown or whatever he does and yeah, the camera will be in my face and I’ll look at it and I’ll weigh it and that’s it.
"But all those things we talk about. (Adofo-Mensah) understands that, yeah, he got a good football player, but we didn’t give him away for free either, so it works both ways."
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Holmes, 43, in his second season running the Lions, Adofo-Mensah, 41, his first running the Vikings. They struck their first trade at this year's draft when Detroit sent Minnesota a package of picks, including Nos. 32 and 34 overall, to move up and draft Jameson Williams No. 12.
"I have a lot of respect of Kwesi," said Holmes. "He’s very intelligent and very forward-thinking. I think we both have the mindset (that not) trading within the division is a little archaic way of thinking. When we make these kind of decisions, I’m totally at peace."
At least until Hockenson torches the Lions next month.
"T.J. was a good, productive football player for us and we had a great relationship since I’ve been here," said Holmes. "I wish him all the best, besides when we’re playing him going forward."
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