At the NFL Combine this week, Detroit Lions general manager Brad Holmes acknowledged the challenge of keeping everyone he'd like to as more core pieces are lined up for contract extensions.
"We're at the juncture with our roster right now that we have identified a lot of young core pieces that we want to keep around, and unfortunately that's the tough part is that you got to make decisions on other players contractually that you might not be able to keep that you want to keep," Holmes said. "So it's not more so due to you don't want to have the players anymore, you just can't have everybody."
At its core, Holmes is preparing to inevitably lose one or more free agents in the coming weeks. Ultimately the adage "you can't pay everyone" holds up, and there will be greater priority on some over others.
Related: 5 Lions free agents who could follow Aaron Glenn to the Jets
Analyst expects likely Lions' free agent departure
ESPN's Aaron Schatz has freshly projected one 2025 free agent signing for each NFL team. He had Cowboys defensive tackle Osa Odighizuwa as the signing for the Lions, which seems less likely than it already might have been as Dallas makes a strong push to keep him.
But within that projection, Schatz spoke in more direct terms about a player the Lions may lose in free agency.
"After this past season's injury cascade, the Lions just need to load up on as many good defensive players as possible. As a high-motor pass-rusher on the inside, Odighizuwa could replace the departing Levi Onwuzurike and rotate with Alim McNeill up front. He had career highs this past season with 4.5 sacks and 33 pressures. The latter was tied for second among interior linemen."
"The departing Levi Onwuzurike." Not "potentially", "possibly" or "if he departs", just "departing." Schatz wrote as if it's a lock Onwuzurike will be gone. To be fair it has seemed more likely he signs elsewhere than he re-signs with the Lions, but a fair case can be made regarding them keeping him and not.
Onwuzurike had the best season of his career in 2024, leading the Lions' defensive line in snaps as he lined up across the defensive front. Pro Football Focus graded him as a top-25 defensive tackle in the league, with a pass rush win rate (12.5 percent) that was a top-15 mark at the position.
Of course there's notable nuance to Onwuzurike's free agency profile. He missed the entire 2022 after having lumbar fusion back surgery, a surgery no other player is known to have returned from, and he was clearly not fully healthy in 2023. With that in mind, projections of his market value are wide-ranging. Back issues that dated back to college appeared to be behind him last season, but back issues also frequently never completely go away.
It will be interesting to see what kind of contract Onwuzurike gets in free agency, and who he gets it from (the Jets?, where he'd reunite with Aaron Glenn?). It has felt like at best a coin-flip proposition the Lions will meet the top end of what he might be able to get, and Schatz is on the bandwagon expecting a departure as Onwuzurike lines up for what may be his one shot at a big contract.
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