3 Lions Making it Easy for Detroit to Say Goodbye in 2025

2. David Long Jr., LB

A midseason acquisition that was cut by the Miami Dolphins, David Long has done nothing to warrant being brought back when his one-year contract expires at the end of the season.

A veteran of 78 NFL games (with 50 starts), Long showed a promising peak in 2022, but he's really fallen off since then, and there's a reason that even a struggling Dolphins defense didn't want to keep him around.

Known primarily for his run defense (and honestly often being a total liability in coverage), Long has simply not performed nearly well enough in either area in 2024. PFF has him graded out at 42.2 in coverage and 35.2 in run defense on the year, and his 35.7 overall grade is the absolute lowest for any qualifying linebacker.

But you don't just have to trust PFF on that. Missed tackles have plagued him all season (though not quite as badly since joining the Lions), and he's allowed a passer rating north of 120 when targeted in coverage on the season.

Long has certainly looked better in Detroit than he did in Miami, but he's still way behind where he was earlier in his career with the Titans. Unless we see him completely transform back into his peak form down the stretch, it's hard to get excited about his future in this defense.

Long has been a plus contributor on special teams, playing at least 40% of the special team snaps in each of Detroit's last two games, but a veteran with so much experience as a starter is unlikely to resign on a deal that pays him like he's exclusively a special teamer. That makes it easy for the Lions to let him walk.