Over the past handful of years as the Detroit Lions have built a powerhouse in the NFC, they’ve had one particular luxury not afforded to very many NFL teams: Continuity.
Of course, the Lions have had to take on change just like nearly every other team in the NFL, but they have had a lot of roster carryover from year to year which has helped them build something as special as what we’ve seen for the last two or three seasons. But what goes up in the NFL must come down.
Every team eventually has guys age out of their contracts or become too expensive to keep everyone around, and the Lions are getting close to reaching that point. With as much success as this team has had, who might be entering their last playoff run in Detroit this season?
3 Detroit Lions entering their last playoff run for the franchise
1. Kevin Zeitler and/or Graham Glasgow, offensive guards
It’s not going to be all the biggest names who will be on the way out after this season, but one area where the Lions could be looking at a slight “overhaul” if you want to call it that is on the interior offensive line.
Frank Ragnow remains the key pivot and anchor for the interior offensive line, but the Lions have two relatively old offensive guards flanking him. That could end up working in their favor as the price of top-tier offensive guard play has increased substantially in recent years, but Graham Glasgow will be 33 before next season and Kevin Zeitler will turn 35 in March.
It’s not out of the question to think that one or both of these players could be replaced through the 2025 NFL Draft where the Lions are routinely projected to go after any of the maulers available late in round one.
2. Ben Johnson, offensive coordinator
Well, let’s talk about the elephant in the room since it’s staring us right in the face.
We’re not just looking at players who could be entering their final playoff runs for Detroit, but coaches as well. There’s no question that Ben Johnson is going to be one of the most coveted coaches on the market and should be able to name his price.
Even though coordinators aren’t allowed to be interviewing for vacancies just yet, Johnson has already been on the interview cycle a number of times and has withdrawn his name. That has created tremendous demand for his services, especially as the Lions have continued to progress and innovate offensively.
Johnson appears poised to lead his own franchise in 2025 and beyond and there are rumors that teams like the Bears and Jaguars will be willing to give him a blank check, essentially. We’ll see what happens, but Johnson could have a strong foundation in either city (albeit income tax-free in Jacksonville, just throwing it out there).
The success of the Lions’ offense over the last few years has been well-documented. Jared Goff went from being a complete castoff with the Los Angeles Rams to being a star with the Lions. Detroit had what was considered to be an embarrassment of a wide receiver room going into the 2021 season and they’ve now got an embarrassment of riches and guys who have been developed from waiver wire pickups to Day 3 picks to 1st-round picks.
Johnson isn’t going to have the exact same embarrassment of riches wherever he goes in the NFL but there are jobs available with both quarterbacks and skill players alike who could attract him away from his nice gig in Detroit, where he’s helped build something special.
And now, we’re getting ready to see him pass it off to the next.
3. Za’Darius Smith, EDGE
I think you could take a look at a number of defenders currently on the Detroit Lions’ 53-man roster and deduce that this will be the “last” playoff run they will have with the team.
Za’Darius Smith might be some of the lowest hanging fruit we can find, but it’s worth talking about him and a variety of others in the same light. Smith was acquired at the trade deadline in a deal with the Cleveland Browns to help not only Smith come close to completing his NFC North division tour (he has played already for the Vikings and Packers as well) but also helping an ailing and injured Detroit defense.
This Detroit defense is borderline unrecognizable compared to what they had on paper going into the 2024 season and obviously there are a lot of rentals on that side of the ball who simply won’t be part of the team’s plans beyond this year.
Smith is set to count just over $4 million on next year’s salary cap so he wouldn’t be the most expensive depth to keep around, but the Lions are likely going to want to add a number of young players and perhaps even upgraded veterans to boost their depth in the trenches defensively.
I don’t even know if it’s arguable at this point that the Lions have a stronger defensive unit on injured reserve than they do on their active roster with the likes of Aidan Hutchinson, Alim McNeil, John Cominsky, Marcus Davenport, Malcolm Rodriguez, Ennis Rakestraw, Derrick Barnes, and Alex Anzalone all sidelined due to injuries.
You need some luck in the NFL when it comes to injuries but the Lions have been more snake-bitten than anything, and many names we see in this upcoming playoff run won’t be Lions much longer after their season ends.
