The Lions lost a lot from their roster this offseason, and aren't done adding. The result is a younger team that still boasts one of the best cores in the NFL.
While proven vets like Alex Anzalone, Taylor Decker, David Montgomery and Kalif Raymond are gone, the players behind them like All-Pro linebacker Jack Campbell and All-Pro offensive tackle Penei Sewell are more than ready to take the reins of the team.
"We’re banking on those guys, " Dan Campbell said Monday at the NFL meetings in Arizona, via DetroitLions.com. "We’re saying, we believe those guys are going to take the next step, not only from a production player standpoint but a leadership standpoint. Alex and Kalif and Decker, well, now the next line of guys, ‘Jack Campbell, Penei Sewell, this is your room now,’ just as an example.
"That’s exciting, too. That’s the cycle of this league, and you have to put those guys into position to where they can become better players — and leaders."
The only significant investment the Lions made in free agency was signing center Cade Mays to a three-year, $25 million contract. He's an improvement over Graham Glasgow, with lots of room to grow: "We feel like he can do everything, and we do feel like he upgrades us from where we were. And that’s important," said Campbell. "That gives us a pivotal piece in the middle. It gives us stability."
Otherwise, most of the players the Lions acquired are a good deal cheaper than those they're replacing. Decker was released along with his $20 million salary (leaving behind a $10 million dead cap charge), replaced by Larry Borom for $5 million. Montgomery and his $9.1 million salary went to Houston, replaced by Isiah Pacheco for $1.8 million. Anzalone went to Tampa Bay for $8.5 million per year, while the Lions re-signed Malcolm Rodriguez for $2.75 million.
Amik Robertson went to the Commanders for $7.5 million per year, replaced by Roger McCreary for $1.4 million (or Christian Izien for $2 million). Raymond went to Chicago for $3.5 million, replaced by Greg Dortch for $1.4 million.
Campbell called this "transformation" of the roster a "bittersweet" process.
"And it happens every year. You lose some guys you got really fond of that really helped you out, big time — we lost a lot of those guys. But then it’s also kind of a rebirth. You get an opportunity to bring in some new, fresh guys from other places that you feel like fit you. And they’ll bring a new kind of energy. So, that’s exciting," Campbell said.
The abundance of short-term deals afforded the Lions more flexibility in the years ahead as they budget for another wave of big-money extensions for their own players, with Jack Campbell, Jahmyr Gibbs, Sam LaPorta and Brian Branch -- their top draft picks from 2023 -- next in line.
"And it happens every year. You lose some guys you got really fond of that really helped you out, big time — we lost a lot of those guys. But then it’s also kind of a rebirth. You get an opportunity to bring in some new, fresh guys from other places that you feel like fit you. And they’ll bring a new kind of energy. So that’s exciting," Campbell said, via DetroitLions.com.
GM Brad Holmes explained last week that those looming extensions placed "financial constraints" on the Lions in free agency. For better or worse, the Lions are sticking to their stated philosophy of drafting, developing and rewarding their own players. While that makes it harder to make big moves in free agency or on the trade market, "it's a good thing," said Campbell, that the Lions boast so many stars to take care of. Better to have them, than to have to find them.
They have already secured the likes of Sewell, Amon-Ra St. Brown, Aidan Hutchinson, Jameson Williams, Alim McNeill and Kerby Joseph, not to mention quarterback Jared Goff.
"We did what we said we wanted to do, man," Campbell said. "Our core is going to be guys that are homegrown. We found them and they got into our program and they became what we are and they’re the ones who hold the standards for the rest of the team. So, we got the hard part."
" Now, when you sign a lot of those guys to a contract and/or for most teams when you sign a quarterback, that takes up a lot of the cap. We have a quarterback, and he’s damn good. And that’s great," Campbell said. "But then, man, we've got to hit on these free agents. You gotta be much more creative with what you do, they gotta fit you, it’s gotta be cost-effective, cost-efficient as much as possible, because you just don’t (have much cap room).
"But that’s part of the fun, too, is finding those guys that fit. But listen, we wouldn’t have it any other way, Brad and myself. This is exactly what we said we were going to do. And like I said, we got the hard part (done)."
Campbell also emphasized that free agency is "just one piece" of the roster-building phase of the offseason, and it remains ongoing.
"And then we got the draft, and then you got free agency after the draft, and then trades are available (into the season). Oh, and the waiver wire after training camp, where we’ve found guys (before). That’s how we found John Cominsky four years ago," Campbell said. "There’s so many things that you have at your disposal that, man, we are far from done."
