The Detroit Lions are officially in offseason mode, and it goes without saying that the team that hits the field for their Week 1 matchup in the 2026 NFL season will not be the same as the roster that defeated the Chicago Bears in what was their final game of the recently completed 2025 NFL season.
One player who has already made a change in the offseason is third-year offensive lineman Giovanni Manu, a former fifth round draft selection of the Lions who recently completed his second year in the NFL.
Manu missed most of the season after an injury in Week 5, and was never activated on game day following that.
Manu has decided to change representation, joining AMDG Sports, who also represents Taylor Decker.
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The Detroit Lions’ Offensive Line Let Them Down This Season
One of the major reasons why the Lions saw their two-season reign at the top of the NFC North Division come to a close was their offensive line.
Not only did Frank Ragnow retire (before an ill-fated comeback attempt late in the season ultimately failed), but the Lions also began the season with both a new center as well as a pair of first-year starters at guard.
For Manu, he missed multiple games this season with an injury after being made a healthy scratch for the Lions in his rookie season.
According to general manager Brad Holmes, Manu has taken steps and shown some promise, but he’s also not ready to declare him officially ready to take a major leap forward, noting that he’s going to have to earn his playing time and beat out other players for the position.
“He’s taken steps,” Holmes said. “I’m not going to sit here and say that we feel convicted that he’s ready to be a major contributor. We hope that he is. We’re just going to have to see how he comes back in terms of when we get started in the offseason program, how he comes back in OTAs. And look, as always, he’s going to have to win a job. He’s going to have to beat somebody out. And so as much as we’re going to surround resources around him, he’s going to have to do his part, too, to make sure that he’s doing everything necessary to be as good of a football player that he can be.”
Holmes does plan on addressing the offensive line, but hasn’t indicated as to how.
“I don’t think that we’ve ever gone into an offseason with a question mark or a hole where we didn’t attack that position with urgency,” said Holmes. “But sometimes it just doesn’t work out as well as we want it to.”
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Brad Holmes Is Unsure Of Taylor Decker’s Future Plans
Speaking of Decker, the Lions remain unsure of his official plans, as he’s going to be taking time to decide his future.
“I’m not sure what Decker’s going to decide to do,” said Holmes. “But not only will it have to be urgent this offseason, it’s been urgent in the past. And look, we’ve drafted. Two years ago, we drafted Manu as more of a developmental guy thinking that he’s going to have some years to take some steps forward. But it would be irresponsible for us to just go into (next season) thinking that, ‘Well, we drafted a developmental player a couple of years ago. He’s going to be the guy.’”
