Detroit Lions 2026 Offseason Retrospective
The NFL season is finally here, which makes this the right moment to stop looking forward for an hour and look back at how the Detroit Lions got here.
The 2026 offseason began with a 9-8 season that felt like a hard reset after two years of NFC North contention. Since then, Brad Holmes and Dan Campbell have reshaped the roster, changed the offensive leadership, rebuilt key parts of the line of scrimmage, and made several decisions that will define whether Detroit returns to January football.
On this episode of the Detroit Lions Podcast, Chris and Jeff Risdon work through the entire offseason, from free agency and the draft to training camp, roster cuts, injuries, and the final tuning of the team that will open the regular season.
Free Agency Changed the Shape of the Lions
The biggest changes were not cosmetic. Taylor Decker and Graham Glasgow were released, David Montgomery was traded to Houston, and Detroit began rebuilding an offensive line that had lost some of the stability that once defined the offense.
Penei Sewell moved to left tackle. Detroit used the 17th pick on Clemson tackle Blake Miller, added Cade Mays and Larry Borom in free agency, and acquired Juice Scruggs in the Montgomery trade. The result is a younger line with more athletic upside, but also one of the clearest early-season questions on the roster.
The backfield changed just as dramatically. Isiah Pacheco arrived to complement Jahmyr Gibbs, only for injuries to interrupt that plan before Week 1. Gibbs, meanwhile, went from an offseason hold-in to a long-term extension through 2030. What looked like a committee in March now begins the season with Gibbs carrying even more responsibility.
Drew Petzing also takes over as offensive coordinator, giving Jared Goff another system to master while Campbell looks to restore the offensive identity that slipped during 2025.
The Draft, Defense, and an Offseason Full of Complications
Holmes used the draft to attack the trenches. Miller arrived in Round 1, Detroit moved up for Michigan edge Derrick Moore in Round 2, and the class added more defensive depth behind them.
That mattered because the defense spent the summer absorbing its own turbulence. The Terrion Arnold situation forced Detroit to rework the cornerback picture. D.J. Reed and Rock Ya-Sin enter the season as the likely outside starters, while the club continues sorting through nickel and depth options.
The bigger immediate concern is safety. Kerby Joseph and Brian Branch will begin the season unavailable, forcing Detroit to rely on veteran depth until two of its best defensive players can return. Cade Mays and Pacheco are also sidelined, meaning the roster Holmes assembled in March is already different from the one Campbell will take into September.
So How Good Are the 2026 Detroit Lions?
That is where the retrospective becomes a confidence check.
The stars are still stars. Goff, Gibbs, Amon-Ra St. Brown, Jameson Williams, Sewell, Aidan Hutchinson and Alim McNeill give Detroit a legitimate championship-level core. The defensive front looks deeper, the rookie class has produced real contributors, and the roster survived cutdown with difficult decisions at multiple positions.
The question is whether the rebuilt offensive line and temporary holes on defense can hold together until reinforcements arrive.
Join Chris and Jeff for the Detroit Lions 2026 Offseason Retrospective as they grade every phase of the offseason and decide whether this team enters the new NFL season stronger, weaker, or simply different from the one that walked off the field in January.
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