After an earlier-than-anticipated exit in the 2024 playoffs, the Detroit Lions are hoping to get over the hump next season. The best regular season in franchise history was followed up by a disappointing loss to the Washington Commanders at home in the postseason, leaving a bad taste in Lions fans' mouths.
Add the coaching departures in the offseason, and there is a ton of uncertainty about Detroit's immediate outlook.
As is often the case when it comes to the Lions, the media and the executives around the league have turned this uncertainty into doubt. Detroit is being counted out once again per The Athletic's latest executive survey. Mike Sando talked to NFL executives for their free agency insights and 2025 season thoughts. It turns out that the Lions will be underrated to kick off next season.
One exec said that Detroit will miss Ben Johnson immensely, and losing him will be the equivalent of the Rams losing Sean McVay. The lack of play-calling experience of new offensive coordinator John Morton and defensive coordinator Kelvin Sheppard was pointed out as a potential weakness for the Lions next season.
"There would be a lot about Detroit that scares me, but it’s not the players. "One NFL exec
Another executive pointed out the possibility that some role players may experience a dropoff after Aaron Glenn's departure. He said that the former defensive coordinator was very good at getting the best out of role players because he had "a vision for how to deploy these guys."
While there may be an adjustment period for the new coaching staff, it's not like Sheppard and Morton are completely new and unfamiliar faces to the organization. Both coaches have worked with Dan Campbell before and know the players and the coaching staff well. The continuity should certainly help there.
The Lions also managed to retain the significant majority of their core in free agency. With Dan Campbell at the helm and the key players coming back healthy for next season, the doubt surrounding the Lions is hard to understand.
On FanDuel Sportsbook, the Lions have the fifth-best odds at +1000 to win the Super Bowl next season. The media, executives, and sportsbooks can count Detroit out all they want, but Lions fans won't mind trying to prove them wrong all season.
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