The Lions will open their offseason program on Monday with a different looking offense from the one that quarterback Jared Goff piloted in Week 18 of the 2025 season.
Drew Petzing is now the offensive coordinator and the team has parted ways with two of their starting offensive linemen. Penei Sewell is expected to move to left tackle to replace Taylor Decker and Cade Mays was signed as the likely starter at center. Larry Borom also joined the team as a free agent and is in line start at right tackle.
Those are significant changes, but Goff said this weekend that he’s not concerned about how the pieces are going to fit together.
“They’ll be just fine,” Goff said, via Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press. “I’m excited to see Penei step into even more of a role in that room being the longest-tenured guy now.”
The Lions currently have nine picks in this year’s draft and they could use one or more of them to further reshape a line that will be charged with giving Goff time to make the new offense reach its full potential.
Lions Clips
The NFL has announced the names of the current and former players that will take part in next week’s draft by announcing second-round picks.
The list includes players associated with all 32 teams, including Cardinals running back James Conner. Conner has strong ties to the Pittsburgh area after playing for the Steelers and attending Pitt, which likely made him an easy choice as the Cardinals’ representative.
Former Bears tackle Jimbo Covert, former Cowboys running back Tony Dorsett, former Chiefs defensive lineman Bill Maas, current Vikings tackle Brian O’Neill, former Jets running back Curtis Martin, and former 49ers punter Andy Lee are other Pitt alums who are set to take part.
The hometown team will be represented by four players. Former Steelers Jerome Bettis and John Stallworth will be joined by Joey Porter Sr. and Jr. next Friday.
The other players taking part and their team affiliations appear below:
Falcons: Michael Turner
Ravens: Mark Ingram
Bills: Shane Conlan
Panthers: Jake Delhomme
Bengals: Ken Anderson
Browns: Phil Dawson
Cowboys: Drew Pearson
Broncos: T.J. Ward
Lions: Calvin Johnson
Packers: John Kuhn
Texans: Billy Miller
Colts: Pat McAfee
Jaguars: Paul Posluszny
Raiders: Matt Millen
Chargers: Shawne Merriman
Rams: Tavon Austin
Dolphins: Dwight Stephenson
Patriots: Deion Branch
Saints: Marques Colston
Giants: Osi Umenyiora
Eagles: Brian Westbrook
Seahawks: Cliff Avril
Buccaneers: Ronde Barber
Titans: Jeffery Simmons
Commanders: Mark Rypien
Lions General Manager Brad Holmes traded up in the first round in 2024 to draft cornerback Terrion Arnold and traded up in the first round in 2022 to draft wide receiver Jameson Williams. He’ll trade up again this year, if the right player is available.
The Lions own the 17th overall pick, and Holmes was asked whether he’d use some of his other eight picks to trade up in the first round for a player he expected to make a significant impact. Holmes told reporters that if the player is good enough, he wouldn’t hesitate.
“Absolutely. Yeah, if it’s the right guy. You guys know me. I feel like you guys get mad at me sometimes, I do it too much sometimes. But, no, if we have that kind of conviction for a player, absolutely. We’re going to go and get him,” Holmes said.
Holmes also made clear that he targets the players he thinks are the best, not the positions he thinks the Lions need the most.
“It’s hard to sleep at night when you don’t get the player you really, really wanted because you reached for a need,” Holmes said.
And Holmes may not wait patiently at No. 17 for the player he really, really wants.
The Lions parted ways with longtime left tackle Taylor Decker this offseason and that’s led many to suggest that the position will be one they address in the draft, but General Manager Brad Holmes did his best on Monday to downplay any urgency.
Holmes signed Larry Borom as a free agent and he could start at right tackle with Penei Sewell moving over to Decker’s former spot on the line. Holmes noted Borom’s experience and placed him in a group with edge rusher D.J. Wonnum of new additions who make it less necessary for the Lions to force picks at either spot.
“You’re talking about guys that have been starters in the NFL,” Holmes said, via Benjamin Raven of MLive.com. “But just kind of look at where the trend is going, where the arrow is going the last time, they’re still young. But we feel good about both of them, so we don’t feel like it’s, you know, we have to supplement them if it doesn’t work out.”
Offensive tackle and edge rusher are significant enough spots on the roster that the Lions would likely consider addressing them even without the current makeup of both depth charts, but Holmes didn’t paint himself into any corners Monday.
The Giants hosted veteran defensive tackle D.J. Reader for a free agent visit on Monday, according to Jordan Schultz of The Schultz Report.
Reader, 31, recently visited the Ravens and is expected to sign with a new team post-draft.
He ranks 40th on PFT’s list of this year’s top free agents.
Giants defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence has requested a trade, but the team wanted to add at the position anyway after ranking 31st against the run in 2025.
Reader started every game for the Lions last season and finished the year with 28 tackles. He also played 15 games for the Lions in 2024 and previously appeared in 105 games for the Bengals and Texans.
He has 328 tackles, 12.5 sacks, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery in his career.
That means Detroit has to decide on the fifth-year options for both players in the coming weeks.
Given their respective performances, it seems likely that the Lions will elect to pick up both. But General Manager Brad Holmes did not confirm that during his pre-draft press conference on Monday.
“We haven’t yet [exercised the options], but we’ve already had discussions about both of them,” Holmes said, via transcript from the team.
Gibbs and Campbell could both be in line for contract extensions. Gibbs ascended into a being a full-time starter in 2025, rushing 243 times for 1,223 yards with 13 touchdowns. He also caught 77 passes for 616 yards with five TDs. He previously led the league with 20 rushing and receiving touchdowns in 2024.
Campbell was a first-team, All-Pro in 2025, having recorded 176 total tackles with nine tackles for loss and five sacks. He also registered four passes defensed and three forced fumbles.
Gibbs’ fifth-year option for 2027 is projected to come in at $14.293 million, as he’s been selected to more than one Pro Bowl. Campbell’s deal is set to see him get paid $21.925 million, as he’s been selected to one Pro Bowl.
On Sunday, news emerged regarding draft prospect Rueben Bain’s involvement in a fatal car crash in 2024. It prompted crowing from some NFL insiders who claimed that they knew all about it — but inexplicably failed to do their job of, you know, reporting it to their audiences.
Regardless, it’s apparently old news. (I didn’t know about it, or you would have seen it here.)
On Monday, Lions G.M. Brad Holmes confirmed that his team was aware of the situation.
“We’ve known that for a while, so that doesn’t really change anything from our standpoint,” Holmes said.
If all teams knew, it really doesn’t matter. The fact that it has become public, however, could prompt some owners to become uncomfortable with drafting him in a premier spot. And he could potentially slide a bit.
Like Jalen Carter did in 2023. The top-five prospect landed at No. 9. And the Eagles had no qualms about taking the two-time Pro Bowler and 2023 defensive rookie of the year finalist.
It still remains amazing that no one reported it. It’s obviously newsworthy. Why didn’t anyone who knew about it report it?
Chris Payton-Jones, a former cornerback in the NFL and UFL, has died. He was 30.
Via Justin Barney of News4Jax, Payton-Jones was involved in a car accident on Saturday night.
Undrafted out of Nebraska in 2018, Payton-Jones played for the Cardinals, Lions, Vikings, and Titans. He appeared in 29 regular-season games, with six starts.
He played for the Seattle Sea Dragons of the XFL in 2023. He then played for the UFL’s St. Louis Battlehawks in 2024 and 2025.
“Chris was a beloved teammate and leader in the locker room, who demonstrated the importance of hard work, determination, and resilience throughout his career,” the UFL said in a statement. “As importantly, Chris was always a bright soul who everyone throughout the league enjoyed spending time with off-the-field during his three-year tenure.”
Payton-Jones had retired from football in January.
We extend our condolences to his family, friends, teammates, and coaches.
The Buccaneers have agreed to terms with a pair of cornerbacks on one-year deals.
Kemon Hall is signing with the Buccaneers, Adam Schefter of ESPN reports, and Chase Lucas is also joining the team, Mike Garafolo of NFL Media reports.
Hall, 28, spent last season with the Titans.
After being reinstated from an NFL suspension, Hall went back and forth between the active roster and the practice squad. He played 66 defensive snaps and 70 on special teams in four games and totaled nine tackles and a forced fumble.
Hall entered the NFL as an undrafted free agent with the Chargers in 2019. He has also spent time with the Vikings, Saints, Cowboys, Chargers and 49ers.
In 28 games, Hall has recorded 24 tackles, one forced fumble and one recovered fumble.
Lucas, 29, was with the 49ers last season and played 98 defensive snaps and 204 on special teams in 15 games.
The Lions made him a seventh-round pick in 2022, and he has 15 tackles and a pass defensed in 33 career games.
The Lions brought a free agent veteran defensive lineman in for a visit on Tuesday.
The league’s daily transaction report shows that the team reported a meeting with defensive tackle Jay Tufele.
Tufele played in 12 games and made two starts for the Jets during the 2025 season. He had 12 tackles in those appearances.
Prior to joining the Jets, Tufele spent three seasons with the Bengals. He had 42 tackles in 30 games with Cincinnati and began his career by playing in four games for the Jaguars in 2021.
The Lions have added D.J. Wonnum and Payton Turner to their defensive line so far this offseason.
