As the November 4 NFL trade deadline nears, the Detroit Lions are ostensibly a buyer. It will come down to how aggressive general manager Brad Holmes wants to be, as he has remained steadfast that the team is not in an all-in "Super Bowl window". When some injured players are projected to return could be part of the equation too.
If the Lions do make a trade before the deadline, it's a virtual foregone conclusion they'd be giving up future draft picks and that's the core of why Holmes would hesitate to make a deal. On the back side of that, it's hard to name any players who could be part of a deal to bolster a need elsewhere. Head coach Dan Campbell has talked about the value of depth, in light of all the injuries that hit the Lions' defense last season.
Potential Lions' trade candidate says it all about deadline plans
ESPN has taken fresh team-by-team look at the upcoming trade deadine, including a player who could be on the move. Beat writer Eric Woodyard had a tough task naming that player for the Lions, and he ultimately went with defensive tackle Roy Lopez.
"The Lions are viewed as a serious Super Bowl contender, and although it's unlikely that Lopez will be traded, he could benefit from a better situation from an individual standpoint; Detroit is loaded with talent at defensive tackle (Alim McNeill, DJ Reader and rookie Tyleik Williams). Lopez started in all 16 of his appearances last season with the Cardinals, but he has yet to start for Detroit."
The Lions run defense has remained stout this season (fourth in the league entering Week 9), with Lopez as a sneaky reason why in his role as a rotational nose tackle (40.5 percent of the defensive snaps). His Pro Football Focus run defense grade (66.0), for what it's worth (and however backed by the eye test) is top-30 among defensive tackles entering Week 9.
But as could've been expected with the return of Alim McNeill in Week 7, Lopez played a season-low 11 defensive snaps against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He was impactful though, with three total tackles as PFF also credited him with two run stops.
I'm starting my film rewatch by only watching Alim McNeill snaps, and someone who is popping off the tape that I didn't see much of live:
— Jeremy Reisman (@DetroitOnLion) October 22, 2025
Roy freakin' Lopez. Only played 11 snaps but made 3 tackles, including 2 REALLY impressive run stops.
Here's one: pic.twitter.com/yEOKUtCqEX
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Lions NT Roy Lopez made the most of limited snaps vs. the Bucs — 3 tackles on just 11 snaps, with 2 near the line of scrimmage on only 5 run defense reps.
— Al Karsten (@FootballGuy_Al) October 23, 2025
Quietly doing his job as a solid rotational nose tackle. pic.twitter.com/AkdZS3zH5t
Lopez is in the small segment of Lions players who don't necessarily have a path to a big role from here on out this season, but could have appeal to other teams at the trade deadline. The value he has to the Lions cannot be dismissed though, and against Tampa Bay he showed can be impactful while playing fewer snaps.
As Woodyard noted, it's unlikely Lopez is traded as the Lions eye a deep playoff run, and they also aren't in line to offload players. But trading a player and making a notable addition before the trade deadline are two different things, so we'll see if Holmes has anything cooking.