The Detroit Lions have a lot to do this offseason, but one of their biggest objectives is to find help for Aidan Hutchinson. The Lions tried just about everything to find a suitable pass rush partner for Hutchinson last year, finding some success with Al-Quadin Muhammad but whiffing on the return of Marcus Davenport and former second-round pick Josh Paschal.

With Muhammad hitting free agency, the Lions will need to not only upgrade the group but find some suitable depth to account for injury. Although free agency is two weeks away, a chance to solve the problem came early when NFL insider Jordan Schultz reported on Monday that the Kansas City Chiefs are releasing defensive end Mike Danna.

A former Michigan graduate, Danna signing with the Lions would be a homecoming. But it also may be an opportunity to find himself. After a pair of lost years in Kansas City, Danna and the Lions could help each other and bring an element to Kelvin Sheppard’s defense that it didn’t have one year ago.

Mike Danna and the Lions Can Help Each Other After Chiefs Release

The Lions’ pass rush wasn’t terrible last season, but there was room for improvement. Detroit ranked tied for fourth in the NFL with 49 sacks and 10th with a 24.1% pressure rate last season, according to Pro Football Reference. But the lack of depth behind Hutchinson and Muhammad ultimately caught up to them over the course of the year as Davenport missed time due to elbow and shoulder injuries, and Paschal missed the entire 2025 season due to a back injury.

With the Lions unlikely to get contributions from either player next year, it could open the door to look for depth, and that could allow Danna to walk right through.

Coming into the NFL as a fifth-round pick in the 2020 NFL Draft, Danna logged 17 sacks and 129 pressures on 1,532 pass-rushing snaps in his first four seasons, according to Pro Football Focus. That effort helped him win back-to-back Super Bowls with the Chiefs in 2022 and 2023 and earn a three-year, $24 million contract ahead of the 2024 season, but things went south as soon as the money hit his bank account.

Danna logged just 4.5 sacks with 38 pressures on 551 pass-rushing snaps over the past two seasons, and last year was a low point with just one sack and nine pressures on 192 pass-rushing snaps. While injuries played a role in his struggles, it wasn’t enough for Kansas City to keep him around for another year, which could have him looking for a new opportunity.

The Lions may need to do something more drastic if Muhammad walks in free agency. But Danna can be a piece of the puzzle. Assuming he comes at a price cheaper than the $11.1 million cap hit he was set to make this season, he could be a low-risk investment that could be cut if he doesn’t perform during the offseason program.

At 28 years old, Danna could be looking for somewhere he can rehabilitate his career, and the Lions may give him that chance after his release from the Chiefs.