With their Super Bowl hopes dashed this past weekend, the Lions will now have to begin a crucial offseason to renew their championship pursuit in 2025.
Detroit has already lost three key coaches to this offseason’s hiring cycle, including offensive coordinator Ben Johnson and defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn. Johnson took the Bears’ head coaching gig , while Glenn was hired for the same position by the Jets . Lions defensive line coach Terrell Williams moved to New England to run the Patriots’ defense under Mike Vrabel.
With so much coaching turnover, especially on the defensive side of the ball where Glenn’s leadership kept an injured unit afloat, the Lions will focus on retaining key talent on their roster.
That effort will begin in the secondary with safety Kerby Joseph . He is still on his rookie contract for the 2025 season, he has already established himself as a long-term piece of Detroit’s defense after a his league-high nine interceptions plus a first-team All-Pro selection in 2024. Lions general manager Brad Holmes said that the team will explore an extension with Joseph this offseason, per Justin Rogers of Detroit Football Network . As the league-leader with 17 interceptions since entering the NFL in 2022, Joseph will have a strong argument to match or exceed the $21M APY figure reached by Antoine Winfield last offseason.
Holmes was less forthcoming about a new contract for cornerback Carlton Davis , who was traded to the Lions last offseason and finished the 2024 season on injured reserve after a broken jaw . He is set to hit free agency in March, but the Lions have not begun negotiations to re-sign him, per Rogers . Davis started the first 13 games of the season before his injury, recording 11 passes defended while holding opposing quarterbacks to a career-low 77.0 passer rating when targeted. He will be looking for a raise on his last contract, which featured a $14.8MM APY (via OverTheCap ), perhaps similar to the nearly $18M APY reached by 49ers cornerback Deommodore Lenoir on his recent extension. However, Davis has struggled to stay healthy in his career, missing at least four games in each of the last four seasons. That lack of availability will affect his negotiations, with teams potentially lowering his guarantees or requiring substantial per-game roster bonuses to account for his injury history.
On the offensive side of the ball, the Lions are considering an extension for veteran guard Kevin Zeitler , according to ESPN’s Eric Woodyard . He arrived in Detroit as a free agent last offseason and outplayed the value of his one-year, $6MM contract in 2024. He started all but one game in the regular season, but picked up an injury in Week 18 and missed the Lions’ divisional round loss to the Commanders. Zeitler’s 2024 contract was a bargain compared to the rest of the guard market, so he will be looking for a commensurate raise on his next deal. He will be 35 years old when the 2025 season begins, so a multi-year deal is unlikely, but a one-year contract in the range of Brandon Scherff ‘s $10MM contract for 2024 could materialize.