Dan Campbell of the Detroit Lions.
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The Detroit Lions are being warned about making a possible $5 million mistake in NFL free agency that will "haunt" them.
The Detroit Lions made waves in free agency, but they didn’t make as big a splash as some other teams. General manager Brad Holmes and head coach Dan Campbell do play it conservative when it comes to free agency and trade moves, but that might need to change if they want to take this team to the next level.
The two see eye-to-eye, though, according to Holmes, who has shut down rumors that he and Campbell weren’t getting along.
“I think the only intensity I would say is just that when you have a disappointment of a season like we had, it’s more intense in terms of — I think what I spoke about at the end of the season press conference is that it is a deeper, harder look from top to bottom on everything. And that’s what me and Dan have done in joint alignment,” Holmes said on the Lions Collective Podcast.
“So that would be the only intensity that was probably a little further because you get this eye opener and it’s like, ‘Woah, hold on now,'” he added. “And so let’s just make sure that we’re not overlooking something, or if there’s not a tweak or adjustment that needs to be done. So that I would say that would be the intensity. That’s what’s happening.”
But, even if these two are in agreement, one NFL analyst is questioning the team’s recent move.
Detroit Lions’ $5 Million Investment May Not Pay Off
In a Thursday, March 26 feature for Detroit Jock City, Jovan Alford makes the case that the Lions have a problem at the left tackle position, following parting with Taylor Decker.
“Losing quarterback Jared Goff’s blindside protector is less than ideal, considering that the free-agent left tackle market wasn’t great to begin with,” he stated in the piece. “However, names such as Rasheed Walker, Vederian Lowe, or Jedrick Wills Jr. would’ve been a nice stopgap option. Detroit GM Brad Holmes had other plans, though, instead signing veteran Larry Borom to a one-year, $5 million deal.”
Alford adds that adding Borom instead of some of the other options may haunt the Lions. It’s not that he’s a bad player. He’s just more of a swing tackle.
“Borom, who is a Detroit native, is more of a swing tackle than a potential every-down starter,” he says. “Even though Borom has made 38 starts over his five-year career between Miami and Chicago, his pass protection skills have been less than stellar. According to Pro Football Focus, Borom has given up 22 sacks with 7.4% pressure rate across 1,456 pass blocking snaps.”
Detroit Lions Need Another Taylor Decker
Alford also notes that “Borom is nowhere near Decker. It’s clearly levels to left tackle play.”
Well, if this was the wrong decision, it’s one that both Holmes and Campbell own together. Holmes asserts that the two make decisions together.
“I don’t know where the other stuff came from, but no, I mean, if anything, it’s me and Dan in total lock step like we always have been,” he said on the Lions Collective Podcast, “and, you know, we’re just kind of looking at everything top to bottom, which we already have done, and that we will continue to do for sure.”