Detroit Lions

Detroit carries $14.9M in current cap room (rank 21 of 32) and $30.5M in dead money, but next year's projected $68.9M in space gives the Lions real flexibility to address their roster holes.

43 contracts expiring

Madden Tools Analysis

One starting spot has weak depth behind the starter.

Detroit holds eight picks in the current class, including five in the first six rounds, and 22 picks over three years with three first-rounders banked, giving the franchise strong resources to address depth and find long-term starters.

• Acquired: Round 7 from Chargers, this draft

Detroit's top strength is its offensive skill group and left tackle, headlined by three players rated 93 or above, while the weakest spot on the roster is left guard, where the starter ranks 30th of 32 in the league.

• LGhigh

  Left guard is the most urgent hole on the roster, with the starter ranking 30th of 32 and the depth chart bottoming out at 3rd of 31 across the league.

• WILLmedium

  Malcolm Rodriguez starts at WILL but ranks 24th of 32 at the position, making weakside linebacker a medium-priority upgrade target.

• Clow

  Cade Mays holds the starting center spot but grades out 20th of 32, and the depth behind him is thin enough to warrant attention.

• REDGElow

  Derrick Moore leads a right edge group that ranks 22nd of 32 at the starter level, a low-priority but real gap alongside Aidan Hutchinson.

• RTlow

  Blake Miller starts at right tackle but ranks 22nd of 32, and the backup options behind him are cut candidates, making this spot quietly fragile.

• 65Brock WrightTEBrock Wright is the third tight end behind Sam LaPorta and Tyler Conklin and also the third fullback, making him redundant depth at a position of strength, and releasing him frees $3.3M against $1.4M in dead money.Frees $3.3M · $1.4M dead
• 59Devin CochranRTDevin Cochran is the third-string right tackle at a 59 overall and releasing him frees $1.0M with zero dead money.Frees $1.0M · $0 dead
• 61Michael NieseCMichael Niese sits third on the center depth chart at a 61 overall and releasing him frees $1.1M with zero dead money.Frees $1.1M · $0 dead
• 68Joshua DobbsQBJoshua Dobbs is the backup quarterback behind Goff at a 68 overall and releasing him frees $1.4M with zero dead money, savings that are better applied to the left guard need.Frees $1.4M · $0 dead
• 64Khalil DorseyCBKhalil Dorsey is the fourth cornerback at a 64 overall and releasing him frees $1.3M against just $350K in dead money.Frees $1.3M · $350.0K dead

Detroit is in a genuine contention window right now. Jared Goff runs a high-powered offense supported by Penei Sewell, Jahmyr Gibbs, Amon-Ra St. Brown, and Sam LaPorta, giving the Lions one of the most complete offensive cores in the game. Aidan Hutchinson anchors the defense, while Brian Branch and Kerby Joseph form a young and ascending safety duo. The challenge is that Goff is entering the back half of his career, which means the contention clock is real, and the $14.9M in current cap room limits in-season flexibility. The $68.9M projected for next year opens the door to meaningful upgrades, particularly at left guard, which ranks 30th of 32 at the starter level. The young core of Gibbs, Branch, and Jameson Williams ensures the roster does not fall off a cliff as veterans age, but Detroit must win now while Goff is at his peak and before aging contributors like Chuck Clark and D.J. Reed decline further.

The Lions are one of the NFL's oldest franchises, beginning as the Portsmouth Spartans in Portsmouth, Ohio, who joined the NFL on July 12, 1930. The financially struggling team was purchased and relocated to Detroit in 1934, renamed the Lions in a nod to the city's baseball Tigers. They won their first Detroit game 9-0 over the New York Giants on September 23, 1934, and launched their enduring Thanksgiving Day home-game tradition that same year. Behind Dutch Clark, the Lions won the 1935 NFL Championship. The 1950s were the high-water mark: led by Bobby Layne, Doak Walker, Joe Schmidt and a dominant defense, Detroit won NFL titles in 1952, 1953 and 1957, the 1957 crown a 59-14 rout of Cleveland that stands as the Lions' last championship. The 'Curse of Bobby Layne' became shorthand for decades of futility. The wilderness years that followed featured individual brilliance from Hall of Famers like Barry Sanders and Calvin Johnson, but the team won only a single playoff game between 1958 and 2023, and bottomed out at 0-16 in 2008, the first winless 16-game season in NFL history. The recent resurgence arrived under Dan Campbell (hired January 2021): the Lions won the NFC North in 2023, beat the Rams for their first playoff win since 1991, reached the NFC Championship Game, and posted a franchise-record 15-2 mark in 2024 before a Divisional-round upset by Washington. The 2025 season was a step back: a 9-8 finish, last in the NFC North, and no playoffs.