The Detroit Lions hardly made a dent on Tuesday, and the NFL trade deadline has come and gone. It left some understandably disgruntled Lions fans, but the addition of depth receiver Donovan Peoples-Jones at the cost of a 2025 sixth-round selection didn’t really tip the needle.
“Understandably,” I say, since for the last few weeks, a lot of Lions supporters had been dreaming of acquiring a high-impact defender such as Montez Sweat, Chase Young, Leonard Williams, or Kevin Byard. However, everyone of those players (except for Sweat, who signed with the Bears) ended up playing for an NFC contender.
Why then did the Lions fail to create a stir? Were the hopes of the supporters too high? How do we interpret the contribution made by Peoples-Jones? On the PODcast this week, we cover everything. In addition to discussing the trade deadline and the strangely busy NFC North, Ryan Mathews, Morgan Cannon, and I also went in-depth on the Lions’ “Monday Night Football” victory over the Las Vegas Raiders.
Here are a few excerpts from our chat.
On adding Peoples-Jones
Cannon: “When everyone was buzzing about the trade deadline, this wasn’t the move they had in mind. But in the end, the Lions were scant in this position, should someone, god forbid, fall down. I thought it would have been possible to add one more outside corner. Though, god forbid, Josh Reynolds misses time or something, this helps simply because. That would have been good to let me sleep a little easier at night. DPJ has expertise with special teams and can fill a variety of positions.
On fans freaking out about a lack of a big move:
Reisman: “I think his (statement) is more telling, so let me start with Dan Campbell. Says he:
“Brad and I have stated since the beginning of this project that we have a plan in place that we don’t want to change or tamper with, and since we are currently in the first year of our third year, everything had to be perfect.”
“They have stated this at every stage of the procedure. We’ve got a strategy in place. We wish to stick to that strategy without deviating. He’s also telling you that they’re not at a stage where they feel compelled to throw caution to the wind. This team’s window is only now opening, and they don’t want to delve into their future selections, as I stated a week before the trade deadline. Although a Round 3 (selection) may not seem like much money, how can you not continue to believe in Brad Holmes’ strategy if you’ve believed him the entire time and have observed how he picked on Day 2? They were 1-6 at this time last year; now, they are a strong NFC contender.
Every action they have taken, at every turn, has been the proper course of action. They seek long-term prosperity.
“Listen, I know Lions supporters—we’ve been waiting for a winner for 70 years, and now that we got a sneak peek, we want to seize the opportunity and declare it ours. This year is ours. Observe the NFC North; it’s awful! Observe the remainder of the NFC: Poor! The chance is present! This group doesn’t want to see it and think, “This is our window; we need to grab it.” Nope. We always have our window open. We’re going to be better regardless of how much the NFC North improves.
See our entire conversation down below. The trading deadline is the main topic of the first section. In the second, Lions vs. Raiders is discussed. The last section discusses the Lions’ season-long performance in the second half and potential roadblocks.
Leave a Reply