Full recap of Lions GM Holmes' wide-ranging talk of team's free agency and future roster decisions

The NFL league meetings are being held at The Breakers in West Palm Beach. (Justin Rogers | Detroit Football Network)

West Palm Beach, Fla. — Detroit Lions general manager Brad Holmes met with local media who traveled to the league meetings Monday morning. Here are the highlights from that half-hour conversation.

Recapping and resetting free agency

After offering up a warning that the team likely wouldn’t be in the market for splash additions at the combine last month, Holmes said the Lions were able to accomplish more in free agency than he had anticipated.

That was headlined by the signing of cornerback D.J. Reed.

“More than happy with what we were able to do,” Holmes said. “Look, we love D.J. Reed. You're talking about a guy that literally just fit who we are like a glove. Very gritty and tenacious. He’s scheme-diverse. I really was impressed with his man-to-man coverage snaps. He’s feisty, he’ll tackle, he’ll support on the edge. So he fits us.”

Additionally, Holmes was surprised the team could be so effective in addressing its defensive line, particularly the agreement they were able to reach with Levi Onwuzurike.

“If you were to tell me that we were gonna get that done back when we were first trying to get Levi extended back in the fall, I would have been doing a backflip, and literally almost was doing a backflip,” Holmes said. “Because, like I said, I did not think that we were going to be able to get a player of his caliber back, along with how expensive that corner market got, and I knew that we had to be in that corner market.”

One player the Lions didn't retain was Za’Darius Smith. They let him go before a $7 million option bonus kicked in.

“It was an amicable decision,” Holmes said. “We couldn't afford it is the bottom line. You know? That was my communication with him and he understood that. Again, that's an expensive position. Like I told you guys at the combine, it's not being ignored. Everybody is asking for one defensive end. No, we'd love to get three or four. It's something that's not being ignored, we just weren't in a position to keep him at his salary. Because, look, he played some good snaps for us and he made plays for us when we acquired him, so we would have loved to be able to keep him. We just weren't able to.”

Holmes acknowledged he has been staying in contact with Smith’s representation in case the veteran’s market settled closer to a range the Lions felt they could afford.

But more than anything, Holmes continued to drive home the point that all of the team’s roster moves this offseason are looking to the future, when the team has large bills coming due for talent they’ve recently signed to extensions and others they hope to sign to extensions.

“This analogy popped in my head this morning: You have financial responsibilities,” Holmes explained. “You have a mortgage, or your kid's college fund, your 529, you have insurance you have to pay. You know you have to pay for those things. But that might require that you can't take the vacation you really want right now this summer. So, that's kind of where we are right now.

“We had so many of these young players that have been on rookie deals, and we've been enjoying the impact that they've all been bringing,” Holmes continued. “But now, a bill is coming. What you spend this year is going to impact next year. It even impacts 2027. So, that's the discipline that we have to adhere to.

“It's not the fans' job to know all of the details,” Holmes said. “I don't expect them to understand that. And if I was just a fan, as much as I love our fans, I'd be the same way. Like, hey, 'Splash! Get guys. Spend the money. Let's go.' But I just wanted to make sure the fans understand that we're being disciplined in our approach because we're trying to win now and also sustain what we want to do."

Holmes said the team is likely done adding big-money free agents, noting there are some younger players on the roster they want to take a closer look at this offseason.

"Look, there's still guys out there that we're staying in contact with,” Holmes said. “For right now, the higher-dollar guys, we're probably past that point now. We're kind of more in the lower deals, whatever that's third wave (or) whatever wave it is now.

“We're still monitoring, but what happens is now you get to a point that we have a lot of young players on our team that we're still excited about,” Holmes said. “It may not be players that have gotten a lion's share of snaps in the regular season of last year, but that we've been watching throughout the year that we're really excited about. It gets to the point now where it's like, 'Well, do you want to add another veteran that you might not be as excited about, but you might be a little bit more excited about this second-year guy that probably spent a little bit of time on the practice squad, got active a little bit of time?'“

Extension watch

Holmes expects Alim McNeill's recovery (ACL) to carry into the regular season. However, there's confidence Aidan Hutchinson will be ready to go.

"I mean, look, we don't have a crystal ball on anything," Holmes said. "We're just gonna see where it's at. But I've seen enough movement and mobility on running in this stage that I feel very confident about where he's gonna be at."

As pressing as Hutchinson's short-term future is, his long-term status with the franchise is also of interest. He's up for a long-term extension, and the franchise would love to get one done this offseason.

That said, the going rate has ballooned in recent weeks following new deals for Maxx Crosby and Myles Garrett, with the latter getting $40 million per year from the Browns.

Holmes wasn't surprised.

"Look, it is what it is," he said. "We had it in that range, kind of already, when we do our future planning and budgeting. But then obviously, when it goes up, it just goes up, and that's just what you gotta prepare for. I don't know what it'll end up being. That's the difficult part about our job, but we work really hard in terms of the prediction forecasting of that market. He's just one of many that we've had to budget."

Another one in that group being budgeted for is safety Kerby Joseph.

"He's a player that we want to keep and, you know, we've let that be known," Holmes said. "He's a fit for us, for our team. He's a really good player, but in terms of the timing, you know, we'll just kind of see where it goes."

One year at a time with Jamo

Teams have another month before they must pick up the fifth-year option on first-round draft picks from the 2022 draft. Still, the Lions have pretty much made up their mind with receiver Jameson Williams.

"Look, it's heading that way," Holmes said. "We're most likely gonna be doing that. Look, he was a tremendous player for us last year. He's still scratching the surface. I do think he's got more in him as well. So I just think it just makes sense for us to do what we can to keep him around."

But asked if the team was considering a long-term extension in addition to or instead of the one-year option, Holmes wasn't as committed to the idea as he was with Hutchinson and Joseph.

"We're still taking it as it goes," Holmes said. "Look, his fifth-year option, it's looking likely that we'll just pick that up, but in terms of extension, again, there's a lot of extensions that are hopefully coming. It's just one that you just don't know what's going to happen from a financial standpoint, because a wide receiver, it's expensive. It's very expensive.

"Look, these are good problems to have, but I just want to make sure that — more so our fans — I don't want our fans to think that we're just not making the splashy moves because we don't want to do that. It's just we're being disciplined to make sure that we're able to sustain winning, but also win now."

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A guard is still in play

Holmes made a point to acknowledge the team wasn't able to bring back everyone it wanted to because they got priced out of the market.

"I do think that's part of the discipline that's required for where we're at as a football team right now," Holmes said.

The GM confirmed that guard Kevin Zeitler fit in that bucket, so I asked how much the move also spoke to the franchise's confidence in second-year lineman Christian Mahogany.

"Look, it's a small sample size of the starts that he played, (but) they were promising, they were encouraging," Holmes said. "We do feel like he has starter-level ability, but he is still a young player, so we still need to make sure that he has competition."

Holmes specifically pointed to the recent re-signing of Kayode Awosika, while simultaneously noting the team wasn't necessarily done adding to the position group.

"We'll still be looking at possibly another veteran to add, and you still have the draft," Holmes said. "Look, I'm not saying it's always going to be in the sixth round where we got Mahogany, but you just never know when we're going to be able to get one of those guys."

I also asked whether the team projected Mahogany as more of a right guard or if they trusted him to play either side long-term.

"Yeah, he did most of his college on the right side," Holmes said. "I think he can do both. He's done both early on, before he had a — when he got sick or whatever with the mono deal. We had him doing both in OTAs. He can play both."

Competition everywhere

In a recent mailbag, I wrote the following about the signing of veteran quarterback Kyle Allen in relation to Hendon Hooker.

"Allen's contract information is out, and we now know the Lions didn't commit much to the signing. Only $100,000 of the deal is guaranteed. That's a reasonable price to pay to have someone pushing Hendon Hooker for the backup job. Why should he be exempt from competition? Isn't competition critical to bringing the best out of players?"

Holmes was asked what Allen's addition meant, and my assessment of the situation was rubber-stamped.

"Look, it's just competition," Holmes said. "That's all it is. I mean, look, we like Hendon. (We're) excited about him. …he had the injury that first year, then last year that was the first year that he kind of was able to do a full year of training camp and during the season. And then we brought Teddy Bridgewater in just because we were gearing up for the playoffs. and postseason and he just wasn't ready yet, you know? And he understood that. But still got high hopes for him. But nobody's gonna be given a job either. So if Hendon wants to be the number two quarterback, then win the No. 2 quarterback job."

As noted in the mailbag, Allen is not a camp arm. He's legitimate competition for the backup job. Still, all signs point to it being Hooker's job to lose.

Need to see more

Holmes doesn’t want the addition of Reed to be viewed as an indictment of Ennis Rakestraw’s future with the franchise. But after an injury-riddled rookie season, the Lions didn’t have enough information to feel comfortable relying on the youngster in a significant defensive role in 2025.

“I knew that we had to be in that corner market,” Holmes said. “That’s not anything against Rakestraw. We’re still excited about Rakestraw, but unfortunately, he had injuries, and he wasn’t healthy enough to provide us a little bit more clarity in terms of where he was gonna be. So, I didn’t think it was going to be rational for us to depend on him.

A pair of hamstring injuries limited Rakestraw to eight games and 46 defensive snaps last season. Holmes believes the addition of Reed will only light a bigger fire under Rakestraw.

“I know how Rakestraw’s wired and this is going to fuel him to be ready and compete,” Holmes said.

Time to put it together

Using the example of Reed and Rakestraw, I asked Holmes if he had a similar view of defensive tackle Brodric Martin following the signing of Roy Lopez in free agency. Earlier in the conversation, the general manager confirmed the team sees Lopez more of an early-down option, like DJ Reader, leaving lingering questions about where Martin, a third-round pick in 2023, fits going forward.

Holmes acknowledges it's time for the developmental lineman to turn a corner.

"Brodric, look, he's got to be consistent," Holmes said. "Obviously, you guys all know I was very clear and transparent that, you know, he was more in the developmental project bucket when we took him. But, you know, now it's time for him not to just — because he brought flashes in the preseason. When he came from his injury, he brought flashes, but he had some low points as well. So, we need to see more of the consistency of the flashes, and he just needs to be a consistent player.

"He knows that," Holmes said. "We've had transparent conversations, and so, he knows that he needs to be a consistent player. He's got all the ability, he's got all the physical tools to be a consistent player."

The Lions moved up to the end of the third round to select Martin, who has unteachable size and length for his position. They gave up three Day 3 picks to Arizona to make that move up the board.

Martin played just 28 snaps as a rookie but looked primed to take a step forward in his second season before his momentum was derailed by a knee injury in the last stages of the preseason. He finished the year appearing in only two games. He was a healthy scratch for much of the second half of the season.