When Detroit Lions general manager Brad Holmes spoke to reporters at the NFL Combine on Tuesday, as he effectively put the kibosh on the idea of notable edge rusher addition, he also acknowledged the reality of continuing to reward players who have proven worthy.
"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 explained. "So it's not more so due to you don't want to have the players anymore, you just can't have everybody."
A "consequence" of how well the Lions have drafted is players proving worthy of lucrative second contracts. Penei Sewell and Amon-Ra St. Brown have been thusly rewarded from Holmes' first draft class, with Aidan Hutchinson, Kerby Joseph and Jameson Williams next up from the 2022 draft class and four members of the 2023 draft class (Jahmyr Gibbs, Jack Campbell, Sam LaPorta, Brian Branch) coming up soon.
Brad Holmes reiterates what the Lions will prioritize as free agency looms
Holmes was on NFL Network's "The Insiders" from Indianapolis on Wednesday. Mike Garafolo mentioned how the Lions have been built in the image Holmes wants, and the "good problem" of having to reward those who are worthy of contract extensions.
#Lions GM Brad Holmes joins me for The Insiders on @nflnetwork to talk a few topics, including the contract extensions that started last year with way more to come: “It’s good problems to have but you you look back and it’s like, ‘Man, there’s a bill to pay.’” pic.twitter.com/b439oDdfpz
— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) February 27, 2025
"It’s good problems to have", Holmes said, "but you turn around and you look back, and it’s like, ‘There’s a bill to pay.’ In the moment, it’s like, ‘Oh, you got Penei Sewell, and you got two first-round picks (in 2022), and you got two firsts again and you’ve got two second-round picks (in 2023) that basically grade as two (first-round picks).’ It’s like, 'Hold on, that’s seven first-round picks that we all like, seven graded first-round picks that we all like.' It’s like, we’d like to keep those guys around. But then you have Kerby Joseph in the third round, Amon-Ra St. Brown in the fourth round. It starts to add up. It changes some of the decisions that you would like to do in free agency. We’ve already started that work, and that preparation to make those necessary adjustments. But yeah, we’ve got to do what we’ve got to do.”
Planning for and prioritizing contract extensions doesn't mean the Lions can't or won't be active in free agency or the trade market. What it does mean is the plan to make outside additions will be targeted and calculated, which it always has been to some degree as players who fit the intangible qualities Holmes and Dan Campbell seek are honed in on.
Holmes didn't say anything surprising to Garafolo when it came to the Lions' process as 2025 free agency looms. If he had said anything else, that would have been a surprise.
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