The Detroit Lions are in danger having their third front office employee hired by another team in just over a year’s time.
The Detroit Lions could be in danger of losing another key member of their front office. According to NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo, the Washington Commanders are “working to hire” Lions senior director of football administration Brandon Sosna . Garafolo calls the job a “high-ranking front-office” role, but does not specify what exactly they have in mind with Sosna.
UPDATE: Per Schefter, the Commanders are sealing the deal, and Sosna will be named Washington’s senior vice president of football operations.
Commanders are naming Brandon Sosna as their senior vice president of football operations. Sosna spent the past two seasons with the Lions as their senior director of football administration, overseeing Detroit’s strategic planning, salary-cap management and serving as their…
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) May 20, 2024
UPDATE 2: The Commanders have made it official. Washington general manager Adam Peters offered this statement:
“We are excited to welcome Brandon Sosna to the Washington Commanders. Brandon was a key addition to Brad Holmes’ staff in 2022 and played a vital role in assisting the Lions in their roster construction these past two seasons. His expertise on the salary cap and in contract negotiations along with his well-rounded skillset developed through his unique career across the NFL and collegiate athletics makes him a great fit for the front office we are building here in Washington. I’d like to thank the Detroit Lions organization and specifically, President Rod Wood who was first-class in how he handled the process of getting Brandon to Washington. Brandon is a home run hire, and we are thrilled to welcome him to the DMV”
This would be a pretty significant loss for the Lions front office, as Lions general manager Brad Holmes has recently praised Sosna several times during his media sessions.
“Last year was kind of his first free agency, and I thought he did a phenomenal job,” Holmes said in March. “This year, he knocked it out of the park again. Just with all these deals, me and Dan (Campbell) can communicate with him about these guys we’re targeting. But Sosna is getting those deals done, along with Mike Disner.”
Sosna worked closely with the salary cap and player contracts, which was essential to Detroit’s 2024 offseason. In just the past month, the Lions orchestrated new contracts for quarterback Jared Goff, receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown, and offensive tackle Penei Sewell, and Sosna played a huge part in that.
The Lions hired Sosna less than two years ago after a mixture of experience at the college level and the pros. He was a cap expert for the Cleveland Browns for a few years before landing with USC as the chief of staff for athletics.
If the Lions lose Sosna, it will be the third front office member hired by another team in the last year—and the second poached by the Washington Commander this offseason. In February, the Commanders hired Lance Newmark —who had worked with the Lions for 26 years—to be their next assistant general manager. Last year, the Lions lost Dave Sears when the Arizona Cardinals hired him to be their new assistant general manager .
Long story short: the Lions front office is well regarded and highly sought after.
That said, the Lions recently signed two highly regarded members to their front office: Dwayne Joseph and Tom Roth . Their hirings are not yet official, so we don’t have job titles for them yet.