Detroit is in an enviable position with their quarterback in place and several Pro Bowl caliber players in their prime as their young core.
The one drawback as Dan Campbell sees it is the financial constraint when it comes to free agency and building around their core that's forced them to be more selective in adding veterans. They've also had to move on from some of their veteran glue pieces.
"I felt like we needed to get younger in some areas," Campbell said Monday at the NFC coaches breakfast during the Annual League Meetings. "That's just the nature of this league. We had some really good production from these players that we really counted on, and those guys helped us a lot.
"It's hard. It's hard to lose guys like Alex and Decker and Kalif and (Al-Quadin) Muhammad. Those guys have been really good. But that's the nature of the beast, too. That's kind of where we're at in the next kind of phase of this."