The Detroit Lions did not trade for the cornerback help the team so obviously needs this week. Pittsburgh instead dealt disgruntled Joey Porter Jr. to the Dallas Cowboys, agreeing to dump the son of a franchise legend for a sixth-round pick in 2027 (their own pick previously traded to Dallas in a different deal) and a 2028 second-round pick.
Once again, the trade of a prominent player to any team other than Detroit brings out the venom for Lions GM Brad Holmes. It’s been a long-running and animated criticism of Holmes for several years now, and the anger is only growing from many portions of the fan base (and media). Porter Jr. seemed like a wonderful and accessible solution to Detroit’s biggest problem: blown plays in coverage.
Generally speaking, an NFL GM shouldn’t need to sate the fans’ thirst. Holmes has a lot of very positive experiences and outcomes by ignoring the will of the fan base. From acquiring Jared Goff to drafting (take your pick) Jahmyr Gibbs, Jameson Williams, Brian Branch, Sam LaPorta, Jack Campbell, even Blake Miller this year, the very significant negative fan (and some media) reactions to each and every one of those moves look ridiculous. Holmes has thrived in that space, no doubt about it.
The Holmes draft pick value conundrum
One of the complaints about Holmes that I absolutely agree with involves the weird disconnect between the GM’s aggression in the draft and his unwillingness to pull the trigger outside of the draft weekend. Holmes has never been shy about throwing around draft picks during the draft to take unproven players he covets. From his very first draft, when Holmes crowed that he wanted to trade up into the first round to select Levi Onwuzurike, it’s been a hallmark of Holmes every April.
Giovanni Manu is the best example. Holmes had no problem giving away a third-round pick in 2025 to select Manu in the fourth round of the 2024 NFL Draft. Manu was an extremely raw Canadian college player, an impressive physical specimen with very limited football ability. Even at the time of the pick, the Lions largely acknowledged that Manu wasn’t going to help the team right away. Yet Holmes pounced on the project with an enthusiastic aggression.
The same is true with Isaac TeSlaa. There was likely a need to move up in the third round in 2025 to secure TeSlaa’s services, even though he was a rawer WR prospect coming out of Arkansas–where the Razorbacks didn’t run a pro-style system and didn’t spend a lot of attention developing TeSlaa as he converted from a Wing-T QB in high school to being a receiver. However, the price to move up proved quite steep.
Holmes dealt away three third-round picks: Detroit’s own in 2025 plus two thirds in 2026. That’s a significant, aggressive move for someone whom the Lions knew at that time would not be more than the No. 3 WR on the roster for his entire rookie contract. Fans see TeSlaa’s limited usage (again, by design) and scoff at the notion that Holmes would sacrifice so many draft resources for that, but won’t give up a future second-rounder for an actual accomplished NFL cornerback–a spot where the team desperately needs help.
Or, as my friend Jordan colorfully put it,
“Holmes is f*** them picks during the draft but f*** you for asking for my picks the rest of the year.”
No risk it, no biscuit
I hear that sentiment a lot. I agree wholeheartedly with it, too. It’s frustrating that Holmes can be so flippant with draft capital to select his project prospects, but is loathe to giving up those same picks to add immediate, available help to the team while it’s in a win-now window. When this topic was broached with Holmes in an offseason press conference, the GM defended himself by citing the move to get Za’Darius Smith.
Okay, that’s a fair retort from Holmes. In the midst of a devastating rash of injuries to the Detroit defensive front, Holmes dealt a fifth-round and sixth-round pick to Cleveland for the veteran pass rusher and a seventh-rounder. Smith was an 8-game rental in 2024, chipping in four sacks and helping hold up a desperate defense. His contract was expiring, so there was no question that Smith could be nothing more than a half-season rental for two Day 3 picks.
This time, Holmes didn’t give up one Day 2 pick in a future draft to rent Joey Porter Jr., a proven performer at a position of dire need. Even if Porter walks at the end of the year–a real possibility for Dallas, by the way–adding a starting CB and restoring order to the Lions’ cornerback room seems worth the 2028 second-rounder. There are 13 regular-season games left, and Porter’s presence would seemingly make it even more likely that multiple postseason games could follow. Yes, valid drawbacks to trading for Porter exist: he has an unrealistic assessment of his value, he is a penalty machine and he hasn’t practiced this season while he’s held out with a *cough* back injury. Even so, it’s hard to see how Porter Jr.’s presence wouldn’t dramatically help the Lions’ on-field product.
A little defense
We do have to be careful here in presuming that Holmes didn’t offer that. I know the Lions approached the Steelers after Week 1, inquiring about Porter’s potential availability. I do not know if any terms were discussed or what those terms might be. Presumably, the reports over the weekend from Ian Rapoport, Adam Schefter and others noting that the Lions were interested in Porter were an extension of that initial contact.
Maybe Holmes and the Lions did make a serious effort to acquire Porter and simply got outbid. That happens. It’s perfectly understandable that the Lions had no interest in getting into a bidding war with Jerry Jones, another football exec who has shown a decided willingness to overpay to get (and keep) guys he wants.
If that’s the case, Holmes could help himself immensely by acknowledging that he tried, that there was a line in the sand that the Lions wouldn’t cross in compensation and another team crossed it. Fans would be disappointed, no doubt, but at least feel like there was some legit effort. I highly doubt we ever hear more from Holmes on this subject than an agitated non-answer at his next press conference–which comes once the season is over. That’s his right, but that doesn’t mean he should default to exercising it. And that’s incredibly frustrating to the fans and many of us in the media, too.
No deal
Again, Holmes isn’t obligated to share any info on moves that ultimately don’t get made. You never show the cards when you fold your hand, after all. But it would still be refreshing and helpful to know that you’re at least dealt into the hand.
