As the Detroit Lions take account of what went wrong during the 2025 season, head coach Dan Campbell has promised a deep look at everything in concert with general manager Brad Holmes. Some things will be in Campbell's control, like shaping the coaching staff, and in his season-ending press conference he gave himself a harsh assessment.
Injuries tested the depth of the Lions' roster for a second straight season. On that front, Campbell has cited the need to add more competition.
It can be comfortably argued that the Lions' 2025 season was first set off course when center Frank Ragnow retired in early June. The best paths to replacing him were in the rearview by then (free agency and the draft), and it's clear the Lions were not very prepared for Ragnow to call it quits.
There's a fine line between giving someone time to make a retirement decision and giving him a date to decide by, and Ragnow took advantage by waiting until OTAs were over.
Bold offeason move prediction has Lions taking a player's decision out of his hands
In season-ending press conference, Campbell acknowledged the Lions were not fully prepared for Ragnow to call it quits. That feels like an incomplete thought, with "when he did" feeling appropriate as the closing thought. When the calendar flipped to June, everyone probably assumed Ragnow was coming back.
This offseason, or probably ever again in a similar situation, the Lions will not be caught with their metaphorical pants down.
Left tackle Taylor Decker first hinted at the possibility of retirement about a month ago. This season was a physical grind for him, as offseaon shoulder surgery evolved into a different, lingering shoulder issue that ultimately costed him three games. It's not a question of he can play at a fairly high level, because he absolutely still can, it's does he want to anymore with an eye on his future as a father and husband.
With the Lions not advancing to the playoffs, ESPN.com's early look at some key aspects of their offseason is fully fleshed out.
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Analyst Aaron Schatz took on the Lions' "big prediction for the offseason", and he went all the way in to offer a bold move.
"The Lions will cut left tackle Taylor Decker if he does not retire. He will be 33 years old next season and has had issues with shoulder injuries. Through Week 17 in 2025, he fell to 43rd out of 70 ranked tackles in pass block win rate, and he ranks 61st in run block win rate."
The Lions could (and maybe should) draw a line in the sand regarding when Decker needs to make his retirement decision by, so they can make plans with or without him. Cutting him would be the nuclear option, since he has seemed in line to be a "Lion for life."
If the Lions did cut Decker in lieu of him retiring, he'd probably then decide to retire rather than pursue any options to sign with another team. So one way or the other, cut and dry or slightly more complicated, his career could very well be over no matter what.