The Lions’ 4-2 start has pushed them right back into the conversation, but the question hanging over Detroit is the same one that keeps coming up every week: can this defense hold up on the back end against the league’s best offenses?
That’s why the cornerback market matters so much now, and why general manager Brad Holmes is under real pressure to do something about it. D.J.
Reed and Roger McCreary have settled in a bit more lately, and Khalil Dorsey showed some promise in the win over the Packers on Sunday. Even so, the room still looks like it could use another veteran body who can step in without forcing Detroit to gamble on a bigger swing.
One name that may now be in play is Eagles cornerback Riq Woolen.
Philadelphia’s loss to the Cowboys on Monday dropped the team to 2-5, and with Jalen Hurts on injured reserve because of blood clots, the Eagles are suddenly staring at a difficult climb from three games out of first place. Tanner McKee has had some intriguing moments, and Saquon Barkley remains one of the NFL’s most accomplished running backs, but the picture around the team looks messy enough that a sell-off at the deadline makes sense.
That puts Woolen on the table as a possible trade chip. On a one-year contract, he could bring back late-round draft capital for a team trying to think ahead to next year’s draft. For Detroit, that kind of move fits a familiar pattern: veterans on short-term deals, not a dramatic splash.
It’s the same kind of logic that led the Lions to deal for Za’Darius Smith two years ago at the deadline. Smith wasn’t brought in as a blockbuster star, but as a steady veteran who helped stabilize things after Aidan Hutchinson suffered a season-ending injury.
Woolen’s path has been a little uneven since he entered the league as a fifth-round pick of the Seattle Seahawks in the 2023 draft, but the highs were real. He made the Pro Bowl as a rookie after intercepting six passes, helped the Seahawks win the Super Bowl last year, and then became a free agent when Seattle chose to keep 2024 first-round pick Devon Witherspoon instead.
His market didn’t go the way he probably expected, which is how he landed with the Eagles on a one-year deal. He hasn’t put up eye-popping numbers in Philadelphia, but he has still given them some steadiness in the secondary. A change of scenery now could make sense for both sides.
For the Lions, the appeal is straightforward: they need a veteran corner, and Woolen checks the box in a way that matches how they’ve operated before. If Philadelphia does decide to sell, he could be an ideal target ahead of the Nov. 10 trade deadline.
In Other News...
Lions Suddenly Face A Bigger NFC Test Than The Standings Show
After seven weeks, the NFC picture has tightened into something that looks less like a division race and more like a weekly survival test. The Vikings are still unbeaten at the top of the North, while the Bears, Lions and Packers all sit in playoff position, and even Seattle is lurking just outside the bracket. For Detroit, the margin for error is already thin enough that every divisional result can change how the standings feel from one Sunday to the next.
What makes the next stretch especially tricky is how little room there is to separate contenders from pretenders. The Lions are in the mix, but the path ahead runs through a conference that keeps stacking competent teams on top of one another, with upcoming games set to shape not just the North but the broader NFC race. And when Detroit gets its next crack at Minnesota, it will be facing a team that has been suffocating opponents defensively, which only raises the stakes of every possession before that matchup even arrives. [Read more 🡒]
Lions Got A Huge Late-Game Break From An Unexpected Defender
Late in the fourth quarter, the Lions got a break from an unlikely place when defensive tackle DJ Wonnum got a hand on Green Bay kicker Trey Smacks 35-yard field-goal attempt. The deflection helped send the kick wide and kept the game tied in a tense finish that was hanging on every snap.
It was the kind of play that can disappear in the blur of a close game, and even some Lions teammates did not realize Wonnum had made the difference until after it was over. Detroit ultimately walked away with a 20-17 win, and the late stop loomed large because it prevented the Packers from taking the lead when the pressure was at its highest. [Read more 🡒]
Lions Got The Injury Reassurance Fans Wanted After Packers Win
The Lions left Lambeau with a win and, as often happens after a physical NFC North game, a little injury cleanup on the side. Dan Campbell said after Week 7 that Amon-Ra St. Brown and Ennis Rakestraw came out with minor issues, the kind of postgame concern that tends to linger only long enough to make everyone hold their breath before the next week begins.
For Detroit, the encouraging part is the timing. Neither player is expected to miss the upcoming matchup with the Vikings, even if one or both sits out a practice day along the way, and the Lions have enough depth to absorb a short absence if needed. Rakestraw had a role against Green Bay, logging 31 percent of the defensive snaps, and the message around the injury report is that this looks more like a brief inconvenience than a real setback. [Read more 🡒]