Detroit Lions: What does the good news out of OTA’s mean?

A positive offseason

The Lions entered this offseason needing a new general manager, a new head coach,  and a new direction. First, there was the hiring of Brad Holmes, the former Los Angeles Rams wonder scout as the general manager.

Then came the addition of Dan Campbell, the former assistant head coach of the New Orleans Saints, as the Lions’ new head coach. Both moves were met with some skepticism.

Until Campbell’s introductory press conference and biting knee caps became the rage. Fans weren’t sure if this would work or not but they liked Campbell’s frankness and ability to say what we needed to hear, not what he thought we wanted to hear.

Campbell then filled in his staff with one highly regarded assistant after another. After all the national pundits had dissed the Campbell hiring as the ‘same old Lions’ they were suddenly singing a different tune as the new coaching staff in Detroit earned high praise.

When the news broke that Matthew Stafford had requested a trade, suddenly whether fans liked it or not, this was now definitely a rebuild.

The Stafford trade was considered the type of disappointments Lions fans were used to, but this offseason was different.

Despite many fans anguishing over the impending loss of Stafford, Brad Holmes eased the pain by getting two future first-round picks, a third-round selection they used this year, and the Lions’ new starting quarterback, Jared Goff.

Once we add an economical free agency period that brought in a few cost-efficient pieces as well as the big catch of re-signing Romeo Okwara, which was followed up with a very solid draft that has the possibility of being the foundation of building a winner, suddenly there was no other possible outcome from OTA’s than the positive vibe the fans are riding now.

So as we soak in all the positives from OTA’s, is this year finally different? Is this offseason hope an actual springboard to something substantially positive for this franchise?