Detroit’s secondary remains the sore spot, and the reaction to missing out on Joey Porter Jr. made that plain.
The Lions entered the offseason with a clear need in the back end, but instead of landing the former Pittsburgh Steelers cornerback, they came away with only marginal role players and a fifth-round draft pick. With the first three games of the season already exposing the unit, plenty of fans saw Porter Jr. as the kind of addition that would have changed the conversation.
That frustration has turned directly toward general manager Brad Holmes. Some supporters believe he waited too long to address obvious roster holes, pointing back to previous seasons when Detroit also hesitated to invest premium draft capital at defensive end despite the need being obvious before Aidan Hutchinson arrived. The criticism now is that the same caution is showing up again, this time at corner.
The current state of the position group has only added fuel. Third-year cornerback Ennis Rakestraw recently called himself a rookie when speaking to reporters.
He did turn in a productive game against the Jets, but fans are not viewing him as the answer to carry the defense. Veteran Rock Ya-Sin has already been bumped in favor of Roger McCreary, a player who has bounced around the league.
Online, the response was split between anger and resignation. One fan wrote, "A scout more than he is a GM.
The arrogance & inability to see the obvious, makes it clear the team will never win anything of note with him as GM. Fans need actual standards, not be content being the Steelers with 10-7 every year, making the playoffs, winning nothing.
SB or bust."
Another said, "Happy to be “good enough”. This clown has no desire to actually win anything of meaning.
How can every fan know that the secondary is garbage going into the season but the GM continues to stand up there and say “we love who we’ve got”. Smelling his own farts."
Not everyone was ready to unload on Holmes, though. Some fans argued the price for what amounts to a rental player was too high, and others still view Holmes as the best front office executive the franchise has had.
The range of reactions captured the mood around the move, or lack of one, with supporters venting about the conservative approach and others wondering whether paying a second-round pick for a player who could not be kept long term would have made sense.
In Other News...
Dan Campbell Hinted At Big Lions Roster Decisions Before Carolina
With a short week leading into Carolina, Dan Campbell spent part of his pregame update signaling that the Lions still have some roster chess to play. Detroit is in trade talks for Joey Porter Jr., while safety Brian Branch is nearing a return to practice, and Campbell also made clear that he remains confident in linebacker Jack Campbell even after a slow start to the season. The message was less about the headlines than the direction: the Lions are still sorting out how their defense wants to look as the schedule tightens.
The immediate assignment, though, is straightforward enough. Detroit is focused on keeping Bryce Young from settling in, and Campbell said the biggest defensive concern beyond that is handling tight ends in the middle of the field. He also raised the possibility of rookie linebacker Jimmy Rolder getting defensive snaps, a reminder that the Lions may not be done adjusting the group as they balance short-term needs with longer-term decisions. [Read more 🡒]
Brian Branch Return Timeline Just Got A Lot More Interesting
Brian Branchs path back to the field is starting to come into focus, and that matters for a Lions defense that has had to wait out one of its most important young pieces. The safety is close to returning from the Achilles injury he suffered last season, according to Dan Campbell, after beginning the year on the Physically Unable to Perform list. If the timeline holds, Branch is expected to be eligible to return to practice next week, a first step toward getting him back in the mix.
What happens after that will be the part Detroit is watching most closely. The Lions would then have the 21-day window to work through before deciding on activation, and Kelvin Sheppards recent comments about the defense and its preparation only add to the sense that the unit is bracing for a potentially meaningful addition. For a team trying to keep its defensive rhythm intact, Branchs return would be one of the more notable developments on the horizon. [Read more 🡒]
Lions Could Have Tough Trade Calls If Young Talent Keeps Rising
The Lions are heading toward the trade deadline in an unusual spot for a team still trying to build something lasting: they are expected to be buyers, but they also have to keep sorting through which veterans and depth pieces fit the roster long term. As Detroit evaluates its options, cornerback Amani Oruwariye, defensive lineman Levi Onwuzurike and offensive lineman Logan Stenberg have surfaced as names to watch, especially if the front office decides a roster spot or draft asset can be better used elsewhere.
What makes the calculus trickier is that the answer may not be about those players alone. The Lions also have to factor in how younger talent is coming along and whether injuries create new pressure points before the deadline arrives. If those developments keep breaking the right way, Detroit could find itself making some difficult calls on useful pieces rather than simply adding help. [Read more 🡒]