The Lions haven’t made a lot of headlines in the early stages of the new league year, as they hope to fine tune a roster that was good enough to go 15-2 last year. There haven’t been many moves at the offensive skill positions so there have been limited fantasy football implications. Let’s take a look at the latest news from the early stages of free agency.

QB: Not much to report on at the quarterback position. QB Jared Goff got his extension last year, so the only questions are about how the rest of the depth chart will look. QB Teddy Bridgewater is a free agent after he came out of retirement late in the 2024 season. I think he is planning to go back to coaching high school football in the fall. The Lions did sign veteran QB Kyle Allen. He has been around since 2018 and Detroit will be his 6th different team. He hasn’t started a game since 2022. One would assume he is being penciled in as the 3rd quarterback as QB Hendon Hooker should be Goff’s top backup.

RB: Things are pretty settled at this position as well. RB Jahmyr Gibbs and RB David Montgomery are under contract and they will share the load again in 2025. Free agent RB Craig Reynolds re-signed with the Lions, which isn’t a surprise since he has been here since 2021 and the coaches like him. He figures to be a backup and special teamer along with RB Sione Vaki. This position will not be a high priority in the draft. Just to touch on the offensive line that opens holes so effectively for the backs, the Lions lost starting guard Kevin Zeitler in free agency. There are internal options to replace him, but don’t rule out a veteran or a fairly high draft pick coming in to compete for that spot.

WR/TE: The Lions re-signed free agent WR Tim Patrick to a 1 year deal, so he would seem to be set as the third receiver again in 2025 after he did a nice job (and stayed healthy) in 2024. It didn’t sound like the Lions were in the market for any of the big name receivers that were either free agents or on the trade block. Also, official word came down that WR Jameson Williams will not face discipline from the league for his gun possession incident from last year. I don’t think the Lions will be in a rush to extend him but they figure to at least pick up his 5th year option to keep him through 2026. Remember WR Amon-Ra St. Brown got his extension last year. The Bengals just committed to their top 2 receivers with long term deals so perhaps the Lions eventually follow that model. I think it would be prudent to draft a receiver at some point this year so try to develop. WR Allen Robinson is a free agent who doesn’t have much left in the tank and it would be surprising if he returned; a rookie could fit into his roster spot. TE Shane Zylstra re-signed so he will compete for a backup job.

K/DST: As expected, the Lions did not use their franchise tag. CB Carlton Davis would have been the only reasonable option for the tag. He ended up signing quickly with New England, so the Lions signed free agent D.J. Reed from the Jets to replace Davis. Reed was highly thought of and ranked among the top players on most free agent lists. Other than that the Lions have been pretty quiet in free agency, preferring to bring their players back and preserve cap space for extending their own young players. A smart approach if you ask me. Sports talk radio spent a lot of time talking about the possibility of trading for Myles Garrett which ended up being a waste of time I guess. They could still use help on the edge which is why many mock drafts have an edge going to the Lions at pick 28. PK Michael Badgley is a free agent and I would figure he will move on since PK Jake Bates locked down the job here after Badgley got hurt in camp last year.

Next month we will preview the draft and perhaps take a look at any significant moves in the second wave of free agency. The full draft order was officially released. The Lions received a compensatory pick at the end of round 3 for losing DC Aaron Glenn to the Jets. They have seven total picks. Due to previous trades they have two picks in round 7, but no pick in round 5.

End.