News Lions Team Notes

[Detroit Lions]

Detroit Lions fans deliver measured grade for Dan Campbell’s 2025 performance

Earlier this week, we published our latest SB Nation Reacts surveys, brought to you by the folks over at FanDuel Sportsbook, asking Detroit Lions fans three questions:

1. Are you confident the Lions are headed in the right direction?
2. What grade would you give coach Dan Campbell for his performance during the 2025 season?

As for our weekly question, you can see Lions fans’ frustration throughout the season in each week’s poll results (below), rising and dipping after each win and loss, followed by consistently low returns near the end of the season as hopes for the playoffs slipped away. However, a Week 18 win in Chicago completed a sweep of Ben Johnson and the Bears and resulted in a nice bump heading into the offseason.

Previous results

Entering the 2025 season: 94%
After Week 1 loss to Packers: 53%
Week 2 win over Bears: 85%
Week 3 win over Ravens: 99%
Week 4 win over Browns: 92%
Week 5 win over Bengals: 94%
Week 6 loss to Chiefs: 82%
Week 7 win over Bucs: 98%
Week 8 Bye week: 97%
Week 9 loss to Vikings: 64%
Week 10 win over Commanders: 91%
Week 11 loss to the Eagles: 49%
Week 12 win over the Giants: 48%
Week 13 loss to the Packers: 34%
Week 14 win over the Cowboys: 68%
Week 15 loss to the Rams: 40%
Week 16 loss to the Steelers: 35%
Week 17 loss to the Vikings: 28%
Week 18 win over the Bears: 67%

As for our standalone question, overall, Lions fans weren’t as harsh as Campbell was on himself—“Not good enough. We didn’t get in (to the Playoffs). I mean, we underachieved. So, not good. I’m going to give myself a freaking ‘F.’”—and instead delivered a measured grade with a reasonable bell curve in results:

Let’s take a look at the comment section of our original survey for explanations on why fans voted the way they did (slightly edited for clarity):

• CoachingExpert2: “D+. Awful OC hire, awful DC hire. Terrible play calling and game management. Unable to beat any team worth a damn, finishing in last place, losing 6 more games than last year. Much more negatives than positives this season.
• Im Agree: “I gave Dan a C/C+ overall. A 9-8 season is a winning season, but ultimately didn’t get them in the tourney. Seems like a pretty average result. We already know he can do better, and I expect he will.”
• iwantmybarrybackbarrybackbarryback: “Gave Campbell a B. He’s a good leader, made some questionable decisions, responded to them appropriately…sometimes the best you can do is the best you can do.”
• icd8u2: “I am glad he gave himself an F, but as Lions fans we know what an F really looks like and this season was not it.”

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Throughout the year, we ask questions of the most plugged-in Detroit Lions fans and fans across the country. Sign up here to participate in the weekly emailed surveys.

Source: https://www.prideofdetroit.com/detr...ured-grade-for-dan-campbells-2025-performance

 

[Zedster]

Interesting collection of updates here. The Holmes presser was about what I expected - a lot of non-answers and deflection when pressed on specific mistakes. The whole "we tried to be aggressive but deals didn't come together" line is getting a bit worn out at this point. At some point you have to wonder if the asking price is too high or if they're just not pulling the trigger when they should.

The McDaniel situation is intriguing though. On paper it seems like an odd fit given how different his scheme philosophy is from what Detroit has built their identity around. But maybe that's not a bad thing? The offense got pretty stale down the stretch and having someone who can unlock Gibbs and Williams in more creative ways could be exactly what they need. The Shanahan coaching tree connection gives me some hope he could adapt rather than just force his system onto the roster.

Gotta say, the Jameson Williams community stuff is genuinely heartwarming. Easy to forget these guys are more than just players sometimes. Those winter coats for the kids at the boxing gym - that's the kind of thing that actually makes a difference in people's lives. Hope he wins that Alan Page award.

The fan poll results are pretty telling too. That confidence graph basically mirrors the emotional rollercoaster we all went through this season. Funny how a meaningless Week 18 win against the Bears can bump things up to 67% though. We're a forgiving bunch I guess.

Anyone else think Holmes is being a bit stubborn about the developmental draft pick strategy? The track record on those guys hasn't been great.

 

[Detroit Lions]

Packers vs. Bears playoff preview: 8 free agents to watch for Detroit Lions

The 2025-26 NFL playoffs kick off on Saturday with the second game of the day featuring the Green Bay Packers and Chicago Bears. For some Detroit Lions, it may be too hard to watch, as the Lions failed to meet expectations and won’t be in the postseason. But if you’re already in offseason mode, I’ve picked eight pending free agents from the two teams combined that could interest the Lions when free agency opens up in mid-March.

Packers at Bears — 8 p.m. ET — Prime Video​

Packers players:

• OT Darian Kinnard (#70) – If you’re looking for a younger Dan Skipper, Kinnard has served as the Packers’ jumbo package lineman for the back half of the 2025 season, while also making four spot starts at right tackle. Like most backup tackles, pass protection isn’t great (11 pressures, 1 sack allowed in 142 pass blocking snaps), but he holds his own in the running game. And he’s only 26 years old.
• C Sean Rhyan (#75) – Ryan has been a starter for the past two years in Green Bay, serving as both right guard and center—despite playing tackle at UCLA. This season, Rhyan lost his right guard job, but managed to find his way back into the starting lineup after center Elgton Jenkins went down with an injury. Pass protection has been a big problem since moving to center (15 pressures allowed in eight games), but his run blocking is strong. Rhyan wouldn’t be a clear starter if the Lions signed him, but he could compete for the job and still has time (25 years old) to develop.
• LB Quay Walker (#7) – Okay, I understand the visceral “HELL NO” reaction after Walker shoved a Lions trainer a couple of years back. But Walker is a productive player who could help a Lions linebacking corps that has five players no longer under contract in 2026. Walker is a tackling machine with even some pass rushing juice (9.0 sacks in four seasons). But coverage is a liability with him, and he’ll likely be costly. But he’s a longer-term solution than re-signing Anzalone.
• EDGE Kingsley Enagbare (#55) — The Packers’ 2025 fifth-round pick has been a bit of a disappointment as a pass rusher (11.5 sacks over four years), but he plays strongly in the run game thanks to his long arms and physical style of play. I could see the Lions being intrigued by him.

Bears players

• G/C Ryan Bates (#71) – We’re not talking about a starter with Bates, although he has started 21 games in his seven-year career. In the past three years, he’s been an emergency fill-in at all three interior offensive line positions, and in 2022, he played 14 games at right guard and two at center. Bates brings a ton of athleticism, but has some size and strength concerns.
• EDGE Joe Tryon-Shoyinka (#93) – This is a bit of dot connecting, as Tryon-Shoyinka could be reunited with his former defensive line coach, Kacy Rodgers, who overlapped with him in Tampa. Chicago’s pass rush has arguably been worse than Detroit’s this year, but the Bears made a late-round swap for Tryon-Shoyinka at the trade deadline, and he’s produced five pressures, 13 tackles, and a tackle for loss in a limited role (about 16 snaps a game). The former first-round pick is tall (6-foot-5, 259) and long, but hasn’t turned those physical tools into a fully-formed product. Still, he has some qualities the Lions like, and Detroit’s defensive end room is bare.
• CB Nick McCloud (#24) – This list admittedly has too many defensive players on a Bears defense that has struggled most of the season, but McCloud is an interesting player despite a down year in Chicago. He was in the midst of having a pretty strong stretch with the New York Giants from 2022-24, but his time there ended with an ugly contract dispute when the Giants asked him to take a mid-season pay cut, leading to his eventual release. Still, he started 16 games for the Giants, tallied 10 passes defended, and three forced fumbles. Throughout his professional career, he’s played both nickel and outside cornerback, and the Giants even toyed with him as a safety. If Rock-Ya Sin and/or Amik Robertson aren’t retained, McCloud is a lower-cost option.
• S Kevin Byard (#31) – The Bears’ other starting safety, Jaquan Brisker, is also heading toward free agency, but at just 26 years old, he’ll likely be out of Detroit’s price range. Byard won’t come cheap, either, as a three-time All-Pro (including this season); however, he will be 33 next year. If the Lions get bad news regarding the long-term outlook for either Kerby Joseph or Brian Branch, this could be a splashy move to get the back-end right. At this point in his career, he’s more of a Joseph replacement, as he’s coming off an NFL-leading seven interceptions and mostly plays deep safety.

Bonus: Bears DT Andrew Billings won’t play after having surgery on a torn pectoral, but if the Lions are looking to pair their young DL room with a veteran run stuffer and they don’t re-sign DJ Reader, I like Billings a lot.

Source: https://www.prideofdetroit.com/detr...view-8-free-agents-to-watch-for-detroit-lions