After getting crushed by the injury bug constantly last season, the Detroit Lions made it a point of emphasis to re-sign multiple players, while also signing a lot of free agents to make sure they aren’t in the same spot in 2025.
Most of their signings went towards the defense as the Lions saw Carlton Davis, Kindle Vildor, and Ifeatu Melifonwu leave the team in free agency.
To their credit, Detroit found replacements for Davis and Melifonwu by signing vets D.J. Reed to a big three-year deal and Avonte Maddox to a one-year contract. The Lions hope these two new guys can be instant impact players in 2025.
When it comes to Vildor’s spot, Detroit already has its replacement in-house, as they re-signed cornerback Khalil Dorsey to a two-year, $3.3 million contract. The Dorsey re-signing likely went under the radar as he’s been one of the Lions’ best core special-teams players.
Lions CB Khalil Dorsey Could Help Detroit in More Ways Than One in 2025
Dorsey has a chance to compete for the CB3 spot this summer as it's up for grabs. Detroit hopes Ennis Rakestraw Jr., who was its second-round pick in 2024, can bounce back after an injury-plagued season, but the job won’t be given to him.
Last season, Dorsey posted 14 combined tackles, two pass deflections, and a tackle for loss across 14 games (one start). In his limited snaps on defense, the 27-year-old had a 54.5 completion percentage and a 99.6 pass rating allowed when targeted.
He also got some looks in the kick return game, averaging 39.8 yards per return (four attempts), which was up from 2023 (20.3 on 12 attempts).
Dorsey's season ended abruptly as he suffered a fractured fibula and tibia in Detroit’s Week 15 matchup against the Buffalo Bills and the Northern Arizona product was among the players who were limited or not participating in OTAs practices in May, per Lions head coach Dan Campbell.
With training camp on the horizon, it will be interesting to see what Dorsey’s status is and how he competes potentially for the CB3 job. If he doesn’t win the job, which is more than likely the case, the Lions still have one of their best core special-teams player.
However, if the injury bug starts to rear its ugly head again, like it did in 2024, at least Detroit knows they have a player who has been in the system since 2022, who can step in on defense.