The Lions have addressed one of the biggest holes on their roster, adding an edge rusher across from Aidan Hutchinson.
Detroit has signed D.J. Wonnum to a one-year deal worth up to $6 million, per the NFL Network. A fourth-round pick of the Vikings in 2020, Wonnum played in 16 games for the Panthers last season, totaling three sacks and 42 tackles.
Wonnum fits the Lions' mold at defensive end, a physical, big-bodied player who can set an edge against the run and crush the pocket against the pass. He's more like Marcus Davenport in that sense than Al-Quadin Muhammad, a pure pass rusher who signed with the Buccaneers after breaking out for 11 sacks last season with the Lions.
Muhammad indicated the Lions didn't have much interest in bringing him back. They signed Wonnum instead, at almost an identical cost. Muhammad is a lighter rusher who relies mostly on speed. He ranked 25th out of 121 qualified edge rushers in pass rush win rate last season at 15.4 percent, per PFF. Wonnum ranked 97th at 8.5 percent.
But Wonnum played more than three times as many snaps as Muhammad against the run. The Lions likely view him as a three-down player. They did not feel the same way about Muhammad, whose 83 snaps as a run defender last season were the sixth fewest at his position, per PFF.
Wonnum, 28, had a pair of eight-sack seasons with the Vikings, in 2023 and 2021. He produced at a similar pace in 2024 when he had four sacks in eight games with the Panthers after starting the season on injured reserve due to a torn quadriceps the year prior.