The last-place Lions traded T.J. Hockenson to the Vikings on Tuesday for draft picks, a deal driven for the future. Flip Detroit’s fortunes and GM Brad Holmes would have made the move all the same.
“This move was not reflective of our record,” Holmes said Wednesday. “If our record was reversed and it made sense for us, then we still would have done it.”
The move made sense for the Lions because they gained an extra second-round pick in next year’s draft and an extra third-rounder in 2024. (They also forfeited a fourth-rounder in 2023 and 2024.) On top of that, they got Hockenson’s $9.3 million cap hit off the books next season, affording them more room to make badly-needed upgrades to the rest of their roster – hint, hint: their defense – this offseason.
“I think we’ve proven that our offense can score a lot of points. And I’m sure that he was a part of it, but it would have made sense. It was not based on our record whatsoever,” said Holmes. “I think it was a great deal for the future of our team, and that’s my job. I always gotta have a laser focus on not only the current but also the future.”
Hockenson, 25, is on pace for a career season, but the bulk of his production came in two games. He was open to signing an extension with the Lions and expressed that to Holmes over the summer, but Holmes never seemed keen on paying him top-tier tight end money. Hockenson, whose contract expires after next season, will command at least $13 million per year on his next deal.
Holmes said reluctance to meet Hockenson’s demands was “one of many” factors that went into the decision to trade him, “but it wasn’t solely focused on that.”
“We’re still in the building phase,” he said. “With the (draft) capital that we received from a compensation standpoint, I just think it made a lot of sense for us as a team.”
In other words, Detroit’s roster still has a long way to go. It has too many holes, in Holmes’ view, for the organization to be splurging on a tight end. The Lions have the worst defense in the NFL and a record of 1-6. Holmes is taking the long view in his second season as GM.
Once upon a time, Hockenson was a foundational piece for the Lions. But he was never a foundational piece for this regime. Holmes, who received a vote of confidence last week along with Dan Campbell from owner Sheila Ford Hamp, wasn’t the GM who drafted him eighth overall in 2019 and wasn’t going to be the one to pay him top dollar.
Like Campbell and Ford Hamp, Holmes is frustrated by the results of this season, but fixing his gaze on the future.
“Whenever you lose, it’s always frustrating. Like I said, we traded a good football player away, but Sheila understands where we’re at as a football team,” he said. “We communicate with her about that all the time and she understands what we’re doing.”
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