Detroit Lions

Detroit is pinched at $12.9M in room this season (rank 28 of 32) with $30.5M in dead money, but next year's $76.8M in projected room (rank 9 of 32) makes the near-term squeeze worth enduring.

36 contracts expiring

Madden Tools Analysis

Three starting spots have weak depth behind the starter.

Detroit holds eight picks in the upcoming draft with six in the first round alone, a rare stockpile that gives this contender the resources to accelerate its roster without sacrificing the win-now core.

• Acquired: Round 7 from Chargers, this draft

The roster's top strength is its offensive skill-position talent headlined by four elite or near-elite players at HB, WR, TE, and LT, while REDGE is the weakest spot with a starter ranked 25th in the league and depth that ranks 28th.

• REDGEhigh

  Derrick Moore (77 overall) starts opposite Hutchinson but the unit ranks 25th in starter quality and 28th in depth, making REDGE the most urgent upgrade on the roster.

• CBmedium

  D.J. Reed starts at 80 overall but the position ranks 24th at starter and 26th in depth, and Rock Ya-Sin entering the twilight of his career further thins a shallow room.

• Clow

  Cade Mays (74 overall) holds the starting job and the depth ranks 4th in the league, so this is a situational upgrade rather than a pressing concern.

• LGlow

  Christian Mahogany (74 overall) starts and the unit ranks 3rd in depth leaguewide, so this need is more about starter quality than roster construction.

• WILLlow

  Derrick Barnes (75 overall) leads the room and the depth ranks 7th, but the starter grades out 23rd overall, signaling a modest upgrade opportunity.

• 65Brock WrightTEBrock Wright sits third on the TE depth chart behind Sam LaPorta and Tyler Conklin, and releasing him frees $3.3M against only $1.4M in dead money.Frees $3.3M · $1.4M dead
• 68Joshua DobbsQBJoshua Dobbs is the backup quarterback at 68 overall behind Jared Goff and releasing him frees $1.4M with zero dead money hit.Frees $1.4M · $0 dead
• 64Khalil DorseyCBKhalil Dorsey is 64 overall and sits outside the primary CB rotation, and cutting him recovers $1.3M while carrying only $350K in dead money.Frees $1.3M · $350.0K dead
• 59Amen OgbongbemigaWILLAmen Ogbongbemiga is a 59 overall backup who appears on both the SAM and WILL depth chart tails, and releasing him frees $900K with no dead money consequence.Frees $900.0K · $0 dead
• 70Larry BoromRTLarry Borom is the second-string RT at 70 overall behind Blake Miller (77), and releasing him recovers $2.4M though it does carry $2.6M in dead money, making the timing worth evaluating carefully.Frees $2.4M · $2.6M dead

The Lions are a win-now roster built on one of the most enviable young cores in the league. Penei Sewell, Aidan Hutchinson, Amon-Ra St. Brown, Jahmyr Gibbs, and Brian Branch form a foundation that any franchise would envy, and Jared Goff at 88 overall gives the offense a proven operator. The cap picture is tight this season at $12.9M (rank 28 of 32), with $30.5M in dead money currently on the books, but next year's projected room swells to $76.8M (rank 9 of 32), giving management a genuine reset window. The pass rush is lopsided, with Hutchinson dominant on the left side and Derrick Moore (77 overall) doing a credible but unspectacular job on the right. The secondary is functional but D.J. Reed is entering a phase of his career where he will need a successor, and Chuck Clark in the free safety backup role is deep in the twilight of his playing days. Cutting loose several cap casualties this offseason can free meaningful money to address REDGE and cornerback depth before the contention window narrows.

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.