If we need more evidence that time flies, Brad Holmes is about to enter his fifth free agency period as Detroit Lions general manager. The rebuild of the roster under his guidance has born a lot of success, some of it unprecedented in franchise history.
Holmes leads a calculated approach in free agency, where broader intangible "fit" is valued alongside (and arguably sometimes more than) someone's talent. As Holmes has said, usually in regard to draft prospects, everyone is talented. It's the intangible things that separate great players from good players.
Frankly, the Lions have been excellent at finding those extra things in players. But as always, nothing is perfect and there have been misses.
After taking a look at the five best free agent signings Holmes has had as Lions' general manager, let's got to the flip side and reveal his five worst signings.
Ranking Brad Holmes' 5 worst free agent signings as Lions GM
5. CB Emmanuel Moseley
Coming off a torn ACL with the San Francisco 49ers in 2022, the Lions took a one-year flier on Moseley in 2023 free agency. There were setbacks, and a different injury, before he finally made his Lions' debut in Week 5 of that season. He lasted two snaps before tearing his other ACL.
The Lions took another one-year flier on Moseley last offseason. A torn pectoral during joint practices against the New York Giants sidelined him deep into the season. Amid another injury, a couple healthy scratches and placement on the Non-Football Illness list, he played in just two games last season (29 special teams snaps).
Expectations couldn't have been all that high for Moseley, but the Lions surely expected more than 31 total snaps over two seasons. It's no one's fault it didn't work out, Moseley just couldn't sustain health at all.
4. WR Tyrell Williams
Holmes' first run in free agency was limited by the team's circumstance, and dead money from the Matthew Stafford. Williams was at least a fairly recognizable name to add to the wide receiver mix, having topped 650 yards in each of his previous four healthy seasons before missing the entire 2020 campaign with a torn labrum.
Williams suffered a concussion in Week 1 of the 2021 season against the San Francisco 49ers, and went on IR. He never returned to action, he was not re-signed and he never played in the NFL again.
3. S C.J. Gardner-Johnson
Gardner-Johnson, after tying for the league lead in interceptions the season before, looked like a great fit when the Lions signed him in 2023. He suffered a torn pectoral in Week 2 of that season, and upon returning to action late he seemed set to complain about his role and playing time.
It wasn't a surprise when Gardner-Johnson went back to the Eagles as a free agent last offseason. He then went scorched Earth on Lions' fans and some of his former teammates, and during this past Super Bowl week he lamented how the Lions were hesitant to bring him back during his rehab from a major injury.
A significant injury robbed "Ceedy Deuce" of most of his lone season as a Lion. But he wasn't particularly good when he did suit up, and he's subsequently complained about his time in Detroit.
2. WR Breshad Perriman
Like Williams, Perriman was part of the Holmes' first free agency class. He was already a first-round bust by then, having played for four teams in five seasons, but his surname was familiar to Lions' fans since his father Brett played for the franchise.
A hip injury limited Perriman in 2021 training camp, then he played in the preseason finale before not making it through final cuts. After going back to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for 2021 and 2022, his career was over.
1. Cameron Sutton
The Lions signed Sutton to a three-year deal in 2023, with the idea he would be their No. 1 cornerback after becoming a reliable starter for the Pittsburgh Steelers. But it did not work out that way at all.
Sutton failed to register an interception that season until the regular season finale, and he had just six pass breakups after posting 15 for the Steelers in 2022. He was just not in position to make plays on the ball very often, as if he lost the ability to cover. He was also grossly overmatched by a run of very good receivers late in the regular season and into the playoffs that year, but even before that he was not any good.
Sutton seemed sure to get a mulligan in 2024, due how his contract was structured. But out of nowhere last March a warrant for his arrest was made public for his involvement in a domestic violence incident in Florida, and the Lions wasted no time to release him.
It was later revealed by team president Rod Wood that Sutton was in the team facility when the warrant for his arrest surfaced on social media.
Sutton was an almost inexplicably bad player for the Lions, and the incident that led Florida authorities to issue a warrant for his arrest seems to show he could be a better human. He went back to the Steelers last offseason, and played in nine games last season after serving an eight-game suspension for the incident that led the Lions to cut him.
Thinking you addressed a need one offseason and having to address the same need the next offseason, as if you did nothing the previous time, is the definition of a bad free agent signing. Add in the questionable character layer that surfaced, and Sutton is easily No. 1 on this list.
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