On Tuesday afternoon, Detroit Lions GM Brad Holmes joined “The Lions Collective Podcast” to talk about free agency, moves the Lions have made and broader updates on the offseason at large.
The 50-minute podcast served as an opportunity to address some oft-discussed topics. Here are a few of the main takeaways from the interview.
You can watch the full podcast here.
Let’s dive in.
Lions prioritized O-line over edge in free agency
One of the first takeaways from our conversation with Holmes was that, internally, the offensive line was considered the greater need of the two most frequently discussed positions of need.
And for the Lions, it all started at center.
“It started off with basically looking at the totality of all the available free agents in general,” Holmes said, when asked about bringing in Cade Mays. “And so, you’re working down a pool of lists, then you start getting to a vertical stack and rankings of guys. And the more that I started to look at Mays, the more I had so much appreciation for, really, how long he had been playing the position and how (much) better he kept getting. You start looking at, OK, what is our identity offensively and what have we had at that center position? Bigger guys that can anchor. And obviously, he’s got the intangible qualities. He’s tough, he’s instinctive, he’s athletic, all those things. But for our quarterback, a guy that can anchor in the middle is huge. And so that’s why he kept kind of staying near the top.”
Based on Holmes’ comments, the Lions were never serious players for Tyler Linderbaum — who was indirectly addressed during the podcast.
“When you start looking at kind of the vertical rankings, you’re like, OK, all right,” Holmes continued. “You have the guy that got paid the most money. OK, you got him there. But when you start looking at the gaps in terms of who’s two and three and four, those gaps start getting a lot smaller after you get past one guy. And so then that’s when Mays just kept making a lot of sense. I think he makes a lot of sense for the offense. I think he’s still got upside. I think he can still get better. And so we were just really happy to get him.”
Then there’s Larry Borom, Detroit’s new projected starting tackle. Based on some of Holmes’ comments, the Lions liked what they saw from Borom at right tackle. Given the flexibility they have with Penei Sewell, we could see him slide to left tackle to make room for Borom at right.
“Seeing what he did at Miami, especially at right tackle, and then when you start looking at the film, it’s like, ‘Man, this is probably about the most consistent ball that I’ve seen him play,’” Holmes said of Borom. “And so then you start taking a deeper dive of him at right tackle, even in the past, and you start seeing this level of consistency versus the guard spots or the left tackle spots, and not saying that he can’t play those spots, too, because he can, but that’s what kept him up there for us.”
Taylor Decker fallout
You can’t talk about the offensive line situation without discussing Taylor Decker. This was Holmes’ first chance to discuss how things played out with the longest-tenured player on the team.
Holmes took some time to appreciate what Decker’s done for the franchise. He said he wasn’t surprised about how anything unfolded. Considering the Lions pivoted to Borom quickly, and how Holmes talked up his ability at right tackle, it appears they’re comfortable with what’s transpired.
“He’s been a really good player for our franchise for a really long time, so he’s going to be missed,” Holmes said of Decker. “I know the fans are gonna miss him, the locker room’s gonna miss him, but unfortunately, those are the kind of difficult decisions that have to be made at times. But we wish him nothing but the best. I know that he was a favorite — he always has been — and just wish him the best of luck going forward.”
Certainly sounds like the Lions are ready to move on.
“Look, I’ll never say never,” Holmes said of a potential reunion. “I’ve learned a lot in this business to say that, but no, (there) hasn’t been any recent dialogue.”
DJ Wonnum had three sacks and four tackles for loss last season with the Panthers. (Nathan Ray Seebeck / Imagn Images)
DJ Wonnum vs. Al-Quadin Muhammad? Not quite
When you look at the surface-level numbers of contracts, it’s easy to tier players. At the edge position, the reports were that Muhammad signed a deal worth up to $6 million with the Buccaneers, and that the Lions later signed Wonnum for up to $6 million. With that in mind, it’s natural to imply that the Lions liked Wonnum more than Muhammad if both were options.
Instead, Holmes seemed to suggest that the decision to pivot from Muhammad wasn’t linked to Wonnum — but rather the moves they made to address the offensive line.
“It didn’t come down to that,” Holmes said. “It didn’t come down to this player versus the other. … I knew what we needed to do on the offensive line. We were all very aware of what we were doing with the offensive line, and so, once we made those financial commitments on the offensive line, I pretty much had a good sense that I don’t think that we’re going to be able to do much else when it comes to that position. That’s another expensive position, like, what do you call it? It’s a premium position. So, basically, it wasn’t like we were choosing this player over that player. I wouldn’t even say the financials were exactly the same as well. But just once we made that decision for the offensive line and we made that commitment, it kind of took us out of some of those other options at edge rusher — including Muhammad.”
There are a couple of ways to view that. The first is, of course, that the Lions wanted to use their available resources on the offensive line. Whether or not you agree with the players they brought in, those were moves that essentially took them out of the high-end market of free-agent edge rushers, and perhaps the middle tier as well.
The second takeaway is that the Lions’ financial position is a lot tighter than perhaps most anticipated. That subject was also addressed during the sitdown, with Holmes saying the Lions simply weren’t in a position to sign players to multiyear deals. The Lions have had dialogue with the agents of several extension-eligible players — Jahmyr Gibbs, Jack Campbell, Sam LaPorta and Brian Branch this offseason. They have a smaller operating pool than other teams because they’re hoping to prevent their core players from hitting the open market.
Hence, a handful of one-year contracts.
Edge discussions/attempted trade-up
There’s been a bit of a revolving door at edge rusher the last few years. Romeo Okwara tore his Achilles and was never the same player. Charles Harris had a breakout year in 2021 with 7.5 sacks and never reached those heights again. The combination of Harris, John Cominsky and Josh Paschal didn’t get it done in 2023. Back-to-back years of Marcus Davenport were hindered by injury, but Muhammad proved to be a bright spot — even if he sacrificed a lot in terms of run defense.
It’s why the draft has long been a place most have looked at as a natural spot to add cheap, controllable talent. Paschal, if considered an edge rusher, was the last player at that position drafted by the team on Day 1 or 2. Holmes said they tried to get an edge they liked in 2025, but either the player they wanted was taken or they couldn’t get high enough to secure him. When that happens, the Lions pivot.
Considering the Lions traded up for Tate Ratledge and Isaac TeSlaa last year, it’s fair to wonder if there were edge rushers on Day 2 that fit the mold, but Detroit was still interested in other prospects enough to make those deals.
Here’s Holmes answer when asked about the board not lining up with the need:
“It’s not frustrating,” Holmes said. “Look, when it comes to the draft, you just have favorites of just players in general. I try to be as transparent as I can with that, like, openly when it comes to the draft. You guys may not like it (when) I say, like, ‘We don’t chase need.’ But if it does line up, it lines up.”
Holmes brought up the 2024 NFL Draft, when the Lions came away with two cornerbacks with their first two picks, as a year when the board lines up with the perceived need. His answer speaks to what things can look like when it does, but it’s not always going to go their way like that.
Holmes was asked to shed some insight on those 2025 NFL Draft discussions for an edge as a follow-up question. Based on Holmes’ answer, it seems like teams devalued Detroit’s future picks in conversations — thinking they’d be lower in position based on their projected draft slot.
“When you start trying to trade picks, especially future picks, what we were running into a little bit is the trajectory of where people thought our team was going,” Holmes said. “Especially when it comes to future picks — when some of these moves that you’re trying to make, you have to involve future picks. Well, our future picks were getting discounted, so we’re kind of getting slapped on the wrist a little bit for that. … That was one of the issues that we had to navigate through. That made it a little bit harder at times than others to make some trades that we were trying to do.”
Good insight from Holmes, who said the Lions are still actively looking for talent and having conversations with agents about bringing in players of all positions — all the way through the summer. The roster is going to look a lot different from now through August.
Again, you can watch the full podcast on the “Lions Collective” YouTube channel.
