Brad Holmes did make a move before the trade deadline, just not the one that felt most obvious for the Lions.
Detroit’s general manager has usually handled deadline business on the day itself, but this time the deal came a day early, with safety Andre Cisco arriving from the New York Jets in exchange for what will be a 2029 sixth-round pick. After that, the Lions stayed quiet on deadline day, and while the lack of a cornerback addition drew attention, that may not have been the biggest miss.
The cornerback market never really opened up. Outside of the Dallas Cowboys’ acquisition of Joey Porter Jr. a little more than a month before the deadline, there wasn’t much movement at the position.
Detroit’s defense has also looked better lately, which is a credit to Kelvin Sheppard, so the team may be able to get by with its current group at cornerback for now. A bigger answer there could wait until the offseason.
The more glaring issue is what’s happening against tight ends. Even after a better showing against the Miami Dolphins in Week 9, the Lions have still allowed the most targets (10.8), receptions (8.0) and yards (88.0) per game to tight ends this season, along with the most touchdowns to the position (11).
That problem has put the linebackers under the microscope. There’s no way around it: they’ve been picked apart in coverage by tight ends, and there wasn’t much reason to believe a fix was coming at the deadline.
With Jack Campbell out indefinitely after the neck injury he suffered in Week 8, linebacker should have been on the table. In fact, one linebacker did move on deadline day, when the Denver Broncos landed Daiyan Henley from the Los Angeles Chargers for a fourth-round pick in 2027 and a fifth-round pick in 2028.
Henley’s background makes him an interesting fit. He played safety and in the slot before switching to linebacker in college, and that coverage experience has carried over to the NFL. Over his four seasons, he has allowed an 82.2 passer rating in coverage.
The numbers from Pro Football Focus paint a less flattering picture, though. Entering Week 10, Henley had the 75th-best coverage grade among 79 qualified off-ball linebackers at 38.3.
Still, the Broncos clearly saw the same weakness Detroit has been dealing with. Denver has allowed the second-most targets and catches per game, plus the third-most yards per game, to tight ends this season, and it acted to address that problem.
That’s why Henley feels like the real missed opportunity for the Lions. The price was there.
The fit was there. And if Denver could get him for that cost, Detroit should have at least been in the mix, or gone a step further if that’s what it took.
Holmes has talked before about how difficult major deadline deals can be, especially when the Lions were forced into a tougher spot after Aidan Hutchinson suffered a broken leg. But difficult transactions are part of the job, and this was a deadline where the biggest opening may have been at linebacker, not cornerback.
With so many teams holding onto players instead of selling aggressively, the overall market was thin. That helps explain why Detroit didn’t make a splash. But it doesn’t change the fact that when the cornerback market stalled, the Lions had a chance to pivot to a much-needed linebacker - and Daiyan Henley looked like the one sitting right there.
In Other News...
Lions Face The Same Patriots Problem New England Couldn't Fix
The NFL trade deadline came and went with little movement for either Detroit or New England, leaving the Lions with just one notable addition in safety Andre Cisco and the Patriots still standing pat despite a roster that had obvious holes. For Detroit, the bigger takeaway is what did not change: the matchup in Munich now arrives with both teams largely intact from where they were before the deadline, which means the Lions are preparing for a familiar opponent rather than a reshaped one.
New Englands inactivity matters because the Patriots were already dealing with offense-wide injury concerns and had needs in several spots, yet they chose not to address them with a deal. The result is a game that should again lean heavily on Drake Maye, with the Patriots set to be without key running backs and forced to navigate the Lions with the same personnel issues that made the deadline such a missed opportunity in the first place. [Read more 🡒]
Lions Get A Needed O-Line Boost After Christian Mahogany Setback
The Lions are getting a familiar face back where they need him most, with Christian Mahogany set to reclaim his starting job at left guard in Week 10. It is a welcome development for an offensive line that has leaned on Mahogany as he worked through a stop-and-start early stretch to his career, including time lost as a rookie to illness and injury before settling in and playing well.
Dan Campbell said the situation has already been addressed internally, and the expectation now is that Mahogany moves forward with the group. For Detroit, the timing matters, because stability up front has been a priority and getting a young lineman back on track should help a unit that wants to keep building momentum as the season moves along. [Read more 🡒]
Lions Quiet Deadline Leaves One Big NFC North Concern Unanswered
Detroits trade deadline ended with a familiar mix of patience and unease, as the Lions made only one addition in backup safety Andre Cisco while leaving their cornerback situation untouched. In a division where the margin for error keeps shrinking, that kind of restraint stood out even more because the rest of the NFC North did not sit still, with Chicago, Minnesota and Green Bay all making moves or preparing for key reinforcements.
The bigger question now is whether the Lions are simply betting on internal help to arrive soon enough to matter. Kerby Josephs return could be close, and if it comes in time, it may function as the defenses real late-season boost. Until then, though, Detroit is left hoping its quiet deadline does not become the thing that leaves its secondary exposed when the games tighten up. [Read more 🡒]