You can add ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter to the growing list of people who believe the Detroit Lions, fresh off an NFC North triumph and a trip to the NFC North triumph Game, are on the right track.
“The Lions have made incredible progress, and I believe everyone understands how much it means to the city to have them win in the playoffs. That was an electric environment twice: once for the Rams and once for the Buccaneers. One can only picture what it would have been like if they had won the game in San Francisco and advanced to the Super Bowl. “I think Michigan would have gone crazy for the Lions,” Schefter told Matt Dery on the newest “Locked on Lions Podcast” episode. “And just because you come near one year does not guarantee that you will return the following year. But I feel they’ve assembled a club that will be competitive for a while. There is a
“They have brought in professionals who have done it correctly. Brad Holmes did an excellent job, as did Mike Disner, Dan Campbell, and John Dorsey. Some people have had an important role in the franchise’s success, and it feels unique because it is. It’s been different lately.
Over the course of the offseason, Holmes has shown budgetary caution while adding a number of players who are expected to make an impact for the team.
While some have criticized the fourth-year general manager for not making a spectacular enough move (e.g., acquiring a Danielle Hunter- or Brian Burns-type player), Schefter praised him for his efforts to continue to grow the Lions into winners. Furthermore, the longtime NFL source believes Detroit will use the April selection to help it take the next step as a club.
“They’re operating like a smooth, smart, effective organization that’s not getting ahead of itself, so I wasn’t surprised,” Schefter said of the Lions’ fiscally responsible decisions this offseason. “They were occupied,” they added players. They just didn’t sign Danielle Hunter, a $25 million-per-year pass rusher.
“D.J. Reader is somebody if he were healthy, I’m not going to tell you he would’ve been paid like Danielle Hunter. But, he would’ve been paid a lot of money. Like that guy is really good when he’s healthy. So, they need him to get healthy. They need their players to take a jump in their second year. But, they really hit on some great young players in the draft this year. So, this is a team that needs to find more help in the draft, and has shown it’s effective in doing that. And, if they can have a draft that’s anywhere like the one they had last year, watch out because then this team is really going to be loaded.”
The status of contract extensions for Jared Goff and Amon-Ra St. Brown
Jared Goff and Amon-Ra St. Brown have been major contributors to the Lions’ recent rebirth as a franchise. And both of them could be getting new contracts soon.
