The Detroit Lions are going to have to take a serious look at the viability of their current offensive line ahead of the 2026 season. It’s obvious that they need to find an answer at center, but now, they might need to find a starting left tackle to take over for Taylor Decker.
Whether he retires or gets cut by the team ahead of the 2026 season, Detroit has to address what’s clearly about to become a vacant spot on the line.
In addition to those issues, they’re also facing down a thinned pass rush unit, with Al-Quadin Muhammad a free agent headed into the offseason. Do they have any answers for his potential departure currently on the roster? It appears that they don’t, and that’s going to likely dictate their draft plan and their aggressiveness in free agency.
Ahead of OTAs kicking off this summer, let’s take a look at four Lions that could find themselves cut from the team altogether by the time practices begin.
4 Lions that could be gone by OTAs in 2026
Giovanni Manu
Manu has already caught flack – albeit, none that he brought onto himself – this offseason for basically not reaching a point in his development where he could replace Decker. Manu, the Lions’ 4th round pick from 2024, has not gotten a ton of starting snaps over the course of his career, and is not ready to step in for Decker if he does retire.
That’s straight from general manager Brad Holmes’ mouth, as he told reporters recently that it’d be “unfair” to expect Manu to be ready in his third year to take over such a big role. But, if he’s not going to be ready to start, then how could he possibly continue to take up a roster spot from a tackle taken, for example, in the first or second round of this upcoming draft?
Manu’s days are numbered with the Lions, it seems. A post-June 1 cut saves the team a hair over $1 million in cap space, and that’s surely something they can use considering they’re in the red headed into next season.
Taylor Decker
This is a bit of low hanging fruit, but it seems like Decker is going to be walking away from the game ahead of the 2026 season: either by retirement, or by a cut by the Lions. The latter move was suggested recently by ESPN’s Aaron Schatz, who suggested it as a bold move Detroit could make to free up a roster space for a healthier left tackle.
Decker is not looking like a prime anchor next to Penei Sewell anymore, and is beginning to look a lot like Frank Ragnow before he retired: an injured offensive lineman who is tired of rehabbing these injuries, just to exacerbate them again.
Sione Vaki
Vaki is another draft bust that Brad Holmes probably wishes he could rectify. Vaki has lost a role in the Lions’ special teams unit thanks to numerous injuries suffered in the preseason and regular season. He also never established a role in the running back room because of those injuries. Former UFL running back Jacob Saylors had more of a role than Vaki.
It’s likely that the Lions look to move on from him this season, especially given the emergence of Tom Kennedy as a great kick returner. This is a draft pick that the Lions are likely okay with parting ways with, especially with how little they’ve seen out of the relationship.
Loren Strickland
There were several standouts from the Lions’ moment in the 2025 season where they had to rely on a Legion of Whom. Nick Whiteside and Rock Ya-Sin come to mind as players that came into their own having to take on starting snaps thanks to the ridiculous outpour of injuries impacting the Lions’ seondary.
Unfortunately for Loren Strickland, he did not manage to stand out as much in that pool. He’s signed through 2026, but it’s hard to imagine a world where he’s prioritized ahead of OTAs if the Lions go for a safety in the first, or even second, round of the 2026 NFL Draft. This is a deep class for defenders and linemen, two things the Lions are prioritizing this offseason. Strickland is likely to be a casualty to that.
