The Detroit Lions most successful season in franchise history ended in a stunning defeat at the hands of the Washington Commanders on Jan. 21, 2025. The 31-45 defeat was met with lingering questions from fans about the future management of the Lions. All these questions will answer themselves in this upcoming offseason over the months leading up to next season’s kickoff.

Coaching Changes
The first and most important question the Lions front office needed to answer at season’s end was the coordinator roles on offense and defense. The Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson, left Detroit on Jan. 20 to take the head coaching position with the Lions’ biggest rival, the Chicago Bears. Losing Johnson was expected, but the move was met with shock and anger from Lions fans as Johnson took a job with one of the Lions’ most hated rivals. On the defensive side of the ball, defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn took the head coaching job with the New York Jets on Jan. 22. This move was also much expected from Lions fans but left with much less anger, as the Jets are not a rival of the Lions. The Lions had already lost some position coaches, as defensive line coach (DL) Terrell Williams accepted the defensive coordinator coaching position with the New England Patriots, and wide receiver coach (WR) Antwaan Randle El followed Johnson to join his staff as the Bears’ wide receiver coach. These types of moves are somewhat common in the NFL.

The Lions quickly filled the defensive coordinator position with our former linebacker coach (LB) Kelvin Sheppard and the offensive coordinator position with former Denver Broncos pass game coordinator John Morton. I predict these coaching losses will affect the Lions’ performance next year as the players have been used to the coaching philosophy of Glenn, Johnson, and the position coaches. But with some coaches being promoted from within the Lions’ system, I believe the Lions can overcome these losses.

Free Agency
The next biggest step for the Lions this offseason is in free agency, which allows players to leave their respective teams if their contract is up. Some notable players the Lions may lose in this free agency cycle include cornerback (CB) Carlton Davis III, offensive guard (OG) Kevin Zeitler, linebacker (LB) Derrick Barnes, safety (S) Ifeatu Melifonwu, wide receiver (WR) Tim Patrick, a defensive tackle (DT) Levi Onwuzurike who are other noteworthy players entering free agency. Though resigning all of these guys would be great, in my opinion, Davis III would be the most beneficial as the Lions clearly missed his presence on the defense when he was injured. In the four games Davis III missed, opponents averaged 30.6 points per game compared to 17.4 points per game with Davis III on the field.

Some positions I would expect the Lions to look into in free agency include OL, DL, WR, and CB. The Lions have an estimated 59.04 million dollars in free agency, which is the eighth most cap space in the NFL. Some names the Lions may look into in free agency include CB Jourdan Lewis, CB Rasul Douglas, LB Khalil Mack, and WR Nick Westbrook-Ikinhe. NFL free agency officially starts on March 12. Signing some of these players would fill needs on the team position-wise and overall help the team succeed.

Contract Extensions
Some players already on the Lions roster who are eligible for contract extensions include WR Jameson Williams, S Kerby Joseph, and DE Aidan Hutchinson. Lions’ general manager Brad Holmes touched on this subject in his end-of-year press conference on Jan. 23. “We’re working through all of that. Again, it’s not always in our control, we might have our plans and processes, but it takes two people to get something done.” These extensions would be very valuable for the Lions, as Williams, Joseph, and Hutchinson are all vital parts of the team.

NFL Draft
The biggest date in the offseason for most teams is the NFL Draft, and this is also very important for the Lions. The Lions currently hold picks 28, 60, and a third,fourth,sixth and two seventh round picks. I would expect the Lions to look into similar positions of need as they will in free agency. But Holmes is known for picking unexpected players in past drafts, including Jahmyr Gibbs in 2023 or Jameson Williams in 2022. In the past three drafts, the Lions have traded their first-round picks. If they stay in the current position in this draft, some names I would expect them to look into include Ohio State DE Jack Sawyer, Ole Miss DE Princely Umanmielen, Arkansas DE Landon Jackson, and Texas CB Jahdae Barron. The NFL draft takes place in Green Bay, WI, on Apr. 24-26.

Schedule Release
The NFL schedule is expected to be released sometime in the beginning to mid May. The Lions’ opponents for the 2025-2026 season are released already. Opponents include the two Super Bowl teams, the Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles, other competitive teams such as the Cincinnati Bengals, Baltimore Ravens, Washington Commanders, and the usual division opponents, the Chicago Bears, Green Bay Packers, and Minnesota Vikings.