During his first media availability after roster cuts, Detroit Lions general manager Brad Holmes said he was happy with the cornerback room after what has seen as a lack of a good enough fallback plan given how things played out with Terrion Arnold.
Holmes acting defiant when anyone dare question what he does. or didn't do, is nothing new. He's done that in regard to failing to find a suitable edge rusher to pair with Aidan Hutchinson, to the point he addressed in his post-draft presser after taking Derrick Moore in the second round.
So Holmes saying, to paraphrase, "we like the guys in that (cornerback) room right now" over and over stands as the gospel. History says he won't easily move off that idea, even if there are potential worthy options out there on the trade market to address the cornerback issue. And this side of D.J. Reed, it is an issue until shown clearly otherwise.
New mock trade has Brad Holmes taking step he'd never take in pursuit of CB help
On a list of seven bold trade predictions as Week 1 approaches, Kristopher Knox of Bleacher Report had the Lions acquiring cornerback Joey Porter Jr. from the Pittsburgh Steelers. While that notion has certainly been out there, and Knox outlined the easy reasons it makes sense, the proposed cost (hypothetically or actually) is where Holmes would surely draw the line.
"Lions Get: CB Joey Porter Jr.
Steelers Get: 2027 1st-Round Pick"
The first thing to remember is how inactive Holmes generally is via trades outside of during the draft. Za'Darius Smith is the one significant in-season trade acquisition he has made, and he later lamented how difficult it was to get done.
Of course any team Holmes called looking for an edge rusher knew they had all the leverage after Hutchinson's season-ending broken leg in 2024, but Holmes had to make sure we knew how arduous the process to acquire Smith was.
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Shy of in-draft maneuvering, as a GM with his early draft record would tend to, Holmes also treats high draft picks as sacred assets. There's no way he's giving up a first-round pick for a player the caliber of that cost, let alone a player like Porter who's got a notable contract coming his way soon. A contract impasse with the Steelers is what has him mentioned as a trade target for other teams.
Imagine if the Lions had a cornerback to pay, along with everyone else they have paid and want to pay. That's why a trade for Porter is unlikely to be on the radar at Allen Park, beyond the idea of giving up a first-round pick.
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