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PALM BEACH, Fla. - By forgoing a vacation, the Detroit Lions are hoping to get to paradise.
That's the analogy Lions general manager Brad Holmes used Monday when discussing the team's quiet approach to the offseason.
"There's a discipline," Holmes said at the NFL's annual spring meeting at The Breakers hotel. "Like this analogy popped in my head this morning of that you have financial responsibilities. You have a mortgage or your kids' college fund, your 529. You have your insurance you have to pay. You know you have to pay those things, but that might require you can't take the vacation you really want right now this summer.
"And so that's kind of where we are right now is that we have so many of these young players that have been on rookie deals and we've been enjoying the impact that they've all been bringing. But now a bill is coming and what you spend this year, it's going to impact next year. It even impacts 2027. So that's the discipline that we have to adhere to."
More: Brad Holmes: If Lions' Hendon Hooker wants to keep spot 'then win the No. 2 quarterback job'
The Lions went 15-2 last season, tied for the best record in the NFL, but have done little so far to upgrade a roster that dealt with massive injuries last season and suffered an unexpected divisional round playoff loss to the Washington Commanders.
The Lions signed just one premium free agent in cornerback D.J. Reed, a replacement for the departed Carlton Davis, and otherwise focused on adding depth and re-signing their own free agents.
They kept Derrick Barnes, Levi Onwuzurike, Marcus Davenport and Tim Patrick, among others, signed rotational pieces for their defensive line (Roy Lopez), linebacking corps (Grant Stuard) and secondary (Avonte Maddox), and lost Davis, starting guard Kevin Zeitler and pass rusher Za'Darius Smith.
Holmes said he was "more than happy with how free agency went" and said the Lions were able to re-sign more of their own key free agents than expected considering the soaring cornerback market.
Davis signed a three-year, $54 million deal with the New England Patriots, while the Lions signed Reed to a three-year, $48 million deal.
"We actually were able to do more than what I thought we actually were going to be able to do heading into it," Holmes said. "I don't know if I was as clear as I could have been at the combine, but I try to kind of let our fans know that we were not going to be big spenders coming up because of all the things that we have coming up in the future.
"I knew we were going to be in that corner market. That corner market was expensive. I mean, just the get-in-the-door entry price was $16 million. ... If you would've told me that we've been able to get a corner for that much with the defensive lineman that we were able to get and getting (Patrick) back and all that, I wouldn't have thought we'd been able to do that."
The Lions have eschewed big free-agent signings in recent years and focused instead on keeping their young nucleus in place.
Last year, they signed 2021 draft picks Penei Sewell, Amon-Ra St. Brown and Alim McNeill to long-term contract extensions. Holmes reiterated Monday he hopes to lock up 2022 draft picks Aidan Hutchinson and Kerby Joseph this offseason. Jameson Williams also could be in line for a new deal soon, and 2023 draft choices Jahmyr Gibbs, Brian Branch, Jack Campbell and Sam LaPorta are extension-eligible next year.
Holmes said the Lions still are in the market for adding veteran offensive guard to compete for a starting job and have some interest in re-signing Smith. But he downplayed the team's needs at defensive end − the Lions tied for 23rd in the NFL with 37 sacks last season − and said the roster is "getting kind of heavy on the defensive line" as a whole.
"We won 15 games with those guys, so it wasn't that, 'Oh, we just want to bring the guys back,'" Holmes said. "But I also do understand the, it's not as exciting from a fan standpoint.
"I always say with free agency, the season ends, the Super Bowl gets played, the Super Bowl's over and then it's like, 'OK, what's next?' And everybody is starving for – free agency’s the first event on the NFL calendar that's intense player acquisition so the excitement is just brewing and simmering and it's only really exciting if you get players that you hadn't seen before on your team."
Holmes warned the Lions likely won't change their offseason approach in the near future.
The Lions currently have $290 million in salary cap commitments for 2026 − the cap this season is $279.2 million − and while some deals can be restructured or players can be released, there are more financial commitments coming to young players, which means the Lions may not be able to afford a vacation again next year.
"I think there's no vacation," Holmes said. "Cause look again, the bill's coming. The bill's coming and all these guys, they're really good players. ... You want to keep them all. We’ll try to, but we might not be able to keep them all. So we're just going to try and do the best we can."
Dave Birkett is the author of the book, "Detroit Lions: An Illustrated Timeline." Order your copy here. Contact him at [email protected]. Follow him on Bluesky, X and Instagram at @davebirkett.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Brad Holmes touts Detroit Lions' disciplined approach to free agency
Continue reading...
That's the analogy Lions general manager Brad Holmes used Monday when discussing the team's quiet approach to the offseason.
"There's a discipline," Holmes said at the NFL's annual spring meeting at The Breakers hotel. "Like this analogy popped in my head this morning of that you have financial responsibilities. You have a mortgage or your kids' college fund, your 529. You have your insurance you have to pay. You know you have to pay those things, but that might require you can't take the vacation you really want right now this summer.
"And so that's kind of where we are right now is that we have so many of these young players that have been on rookie deals and we've been enjoying the impact that they've all been bringing. But now a bill is coming and what you spend this year, it's going to impact next year. It even impacts 2027. So that's the discipline that we have to adhere to."
More: Brad Holmes: If Lions' Hendon Hooker wants to keep spot 'then win the No. 2 quarterback job'
The Lions went 15-2 last season, tied for the best record in the NFL, but have done little so far to upgrade a roster that dealt with massive injuries last season and suffered an unexpected divisional round playoff loss to the Washington Commanders.
The Lions signed just one premium free agent in cornerback D.J. Reed, a replacement for the departed Carlton Davis, and otherwise focused on adding depth and re-signing their own free agents.
They kept Derrick Barnes, Levi Onwuzurike, Marcus Davenport and Tim Patrick, among others, signed rotational pieces for their defensive line (Roy Lopez), linebacking corps (Grant Stuard) and secondary (Avonte Maddox), and lost Davis, starting guard Kevin Zeitler and pass rusher Za'Darius Smith.
Holmes said he was "more than happy with how free agency went" and said the Lions were able to re-sign more of their own key free agents than expected considering the soaring cornerback market.
Davis signed a three-year, $54 million deal with the New England Patriots, while the Lions signed Reed to a three-year, $48 million deal.
"We actually were able to do more than what I thought we actually were going to be able to do heading into it," Holmes said. "I don't know if I was as clear as I could have been at the combine, but I try to kind of let our fans know that we were not going to be big spenders coming up because of all the things that we have coming up in the future.
"I knew we were going to be in that corner market. That corner market was expensive. I mean, just the get-in-the-door entry price was $16 million. ... If you would've told me that we've been able to get a corner for that much with the defensive lineman that we were able to get and getting (Patrick) back and all that, I wouldn't have thought we'd been able to do that."
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The Lions have eschewed big free-agent signings in recent years and focused instead on keeping their young nucleus in place.
Last year, they signed 2021 draft picks Penei Sewell, Amon-Ra St. Brown and Alim McNeill to long-term contract extensions. Holmes reiterated Monday he hopes to lock up 2022 draft picks Aidan Hutchinson and Kerby Joseph this offseason. Jameson Williams also could be in line for a new deal soon, and 2023 draft choices Jahmyr Gibbs, Brian Branch, Jack Campbell and Sam LaPorta are extension-eligible next year.
Holmes said the Lions still are in the market for adding veteran offensive guard to compete for a starting job and have some interest in re-signing Smith. But he downplayed the team's needs at defensive end − the Lions tied for 23rd in the NFL with 37 sacks last season − and said the roster is "getting kind of heavy on the defensive line" as a whole.
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"We won 15 games with those guys, so it wasn't that, 'Oh, we just want to bring the guys back,'" Holmes said. "But I also do understand the, it's not as exciting from a fan standpoint.
"I always say with free agency, the season ends, the Super Bowl gets played, the Super Bowl's over and then it's like, 'OK, what's next?' And everybody is starving for – free agency’s the first event on the NFL calendar that's intense player acquisition so the excitement is just brewing and simmering and it's only really exciting if you get players that you hadn't seen before on your team."
Holmes warned the Lions likely won't change their offseason approach in the near future.
The Lions currently have $290 million in salary cap commitments for 2026 − the cap this season is $279.2 million − and while some deals can be restructured or players can be released, there are more financial commitments coming to young players, which means the Lions may not be able to afford a vacation again next year.
"I think there's no vacation," Holmes said. "Cause look again, the bill's coming. The bill's coming and all these guys, they're really good players. ... You want to keep them all. We’ll try to, but we might not be able to keep them all. So we're just going to try and do the best we can."
Dave Birkett is the author of the book, "Detroit Lions: An Illustrated Timeline." Order your copy here. Contact him at [email protected]. Follow him on Bluesky, X and Instagram at @davebirkett.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Brad Holmes touts Detroit Lions' disciplined approach to free agency
Continue reading...
