Is it Super Bowl or bust for the Lions this season? GM Brad Holmes went there Thursday morning as he held a press conference a day after finalizing the team’s 53-man roster and practice squad.
Last season the Lions won a playoff game and reached the NFC Championship Game for the first time in more than three decades. But their bid to reach the franchise’s first-ever Super Bowl fell agonizingly short after seeing a 17-point halftime lead evaporate.
After Lions fever reached an all-time high, Holmes was asked Thursday what his expectations are for this season. His answer was simple and to the point.
“For this season? Win the Super Bowl,” he said.
The quest to do what many Lions fans have long thought was impossible begins on Sept. 8 when Detroit hosts the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday Night Football.
Among the biggest storylines coming out of this week’s roster cuts is what to make of the wide receiver room. The Lions enter the season with just four receivers on the active roster — Amon-Ra St. Brown, Jameson Williams, Kalif Raymond and undrafted rookie free agent Isaiah Williams, who had an impressive preseason.
That’s a relatively inexperienced receiving corps, with just 15 NFL seasons combined and a total of 489 career catches between them.
But the Lions added plenty of experience to the practice squad with former Broncos WR Tim Patrick and veteran Allen Robinson joining Donovan Peoples-Jones and Tom Kennedy.
Robinson alone has more career catches than the active WRs and Patrick was beginning to show promise in 2020 and 2021 before back-to-back early-season injuries led to him missing each of the last two seasons.
But Holmes has plenty of confidence in his receivers, not just the well-known commodity that is St. Brown. He’s excited about how far Jameson Williams has come over the last two years, showing “tremendous growth” both as a player and a person.
“You can clearly tell he’s put the work in and he’s been working even harder. And it means something to him. I mean, this kid loves football. I mean he loves football. And I think it’s very evident in the results, as you saw this training camp,” Holmes said.
Jamo missed the majority of his rookie season due to a gambling suspension and last year showed flashes of his promise and versatility — especially in the NFC Championship loss to the 49ers in which he busted a 42-yard run to open the scoring.
On Thursday Holmes also addressed the decision to go with Hendon Hooker at backup QB and former Georgia star Jake Fromm over Nate Sudfeld for the practice squad.
Holmes said when Fromm was brought in for a workout, it was really “just for insurance,” but he certainly impressed in the preseason finale and the practices leading up to it.
"I give the kid credit. I mean, his mindset wasn't 'I'm coming in as insurance.' His mindset was coming in as 'I'm coming in to compete and do something with this opportunity.' So in the game, when he got his opportunity, he just took full advantage of it,” Holmes said.