The Lions could look externally to replace Aidan Hutchinson, but they're "not in a hurry to make a move," Dan Campbell said Monday.
"I believe in the guys that are here," Campbell said. "I believe in that D-line. Doesn’t mean we’re not looking, we’re not evaluating. Brad (Holmes) is, that’s his job and he’s good at it and we’ll take it as it comes. But our eyes are open, and we want to make sure that we have what we need here.”
The Lions are more likely to pursue a supporting player than a star like Maxx Crosby or Myles Garrett, per Adam Schefter. Asked about the idea of Crosby, a Michigan native, getting traded to Detroit, Schefter said on Monday Night Countdown, "That’s fantasy football. That’s not real-life football. These teams are not in the market of giving away elite defensive players."
Schefter went on to say that while the Lions will gauge the trade market for defensive help, "my understanding is they're not going to mortgage their future." He said the trade that the Seahawks made Monday in sending a sixth-round pick to the Jaguars for veteran DL Roy Robertson-Harris is "the kind of move I think the Lions will look to make, if they can make a move" more than going all-in on a superstar like Crosby or Garrett:
"To get an elite player like that, first of all, a team would have to be willing to part with them, which in all probability they're not. And the Lions would have to come up with such a substantial, significant offer that it's unrealistic to expect that they could go trade for Maxx Crosby or Myles Garrett. They're going to look to see if they can find some defensive help, but it will be somebody that steps in in a secondary role."
Schefter also reported Monday on the Pat McAfee Show that a team asked the Raiders about a Crosby trade earlier this season and floated a first-round pick, "and the (Raiders) said, 'Yeah, you start with multiple 1's on that guy, and even then we wouldn’t even entertain it.'"
"Something could always change, but I don’t see the Raiders trading Crosby and I don’t see the Browns trading Garrett," Schefter said.
And he doesn't see the Lions being inclined to make such a move: "It costs money, it costs picks, that’s not the type of program that they’ve built. I think they’re going to rely on the talent (internally) and they’ll look around to see if there is a move that’s out there, but a reasonable one, not some huge house-claiming."
Asked Monday if he still believes the Lions are Super Bowl contenders without their best defensive player, Campbell said, "Listen, my job is to coach what’s here and I’m going to coach the hell out of them, and we are as a staff. And so, yeah, I do. And if we get somebody, great. If we don’t, these are our guys. And the coaches know that.
"This is what we came into camp with, this is why we develop talent, and it’s next man up and they’ve got to be ready to go.”