The Detroit Lions took a partial step toward filling their needs at a key position on Tuesday, agreeing to terms with edge rusher DJ Wonnum on a one-year deal.
Wonnum was the first edge defender to join the team in free agency. Prior to the start of free agency, we here at The Detroit News compiled a list of the team’s five biggest needs during the player acquisition period. While they’ve addressed all of those positions in some way, they still have some work to do.
Here’s where things stand as the second week of free agency nears its end.
Interior offensive line
Added/retained: Cade Mays, Juice Scruggs
Also under contract: Miles Frazier, Christian Mahogany, Tate Ratledge, Michael Niese, Seth McLaughlin
Departed/released: Graham Glasgow
In-house free agents still available: Trystan Colon, Kayode Awosika
Detroit attacked its most glaring need — starting center — within the first few hours of the legal tampering period, agreeing to terms with Mays on a three-year, $25 million deal. Detroit also had struggles at left guard last season, but after acquiring Scruggs from the Houston Texans in the trade for running back David Montgomery, we get the sense that the Lions might not add another potential starter at the position until draft day.
Assuming Mays (center) and Ratledge (right guard) have two of the interior line spots locked down, that leaves Frazier, Mahogany and Scruggs to battle it out for the final spot at left guard, which is a fine spot to be in this time of year. However, we wouldn’t be surprised to see the Lions add another interior lineman as early as Round 1 in the NFL Draft, where someone like Penn State’s Vega Ioane could help Detroit solidify the interior for years to come.
Related: Detroit Lions center Cade Mays still ‘on the rise’ after breakout season
Defensive end
Added/retained: D.J. Wonnum
Also under contract: Aidan Hutchinson, Ahmed Hassanein
Departed/released: Josh Paschal, Al-Quadin Muhammad, Tyrus Wheat
In-house free agents still available: Marcus Davenport
Entering the second week of free agency, the Lions’ edge room contained a superstar pass rusher in Hutchinson and a sixth-round pick with no in-game experience who’s entering his second year (Hassanein). Detroit has shored up the starting-caliber group a bit by adding Wonnum, who’s entering his seventh season and has consistently been a high-floor, low-ceiling asset in the league.
Considering that Wonnum fills the early-down, run-stopping, edge-setting role that was played by Marcus Davenport, Detroit still needs someone to fill the situational pass rusher role that was previously occupied by Muhammad, who joined the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in free agency. This group could also use some depth. The 2026 draft class is considered deep at edge, so we’d expect the Lions to make a few more bargain-bin additions in free agency and further attack the position at the draft.
Offensive tackle
Added/retained: Larry Borom
Also under contract: Penei Sewell, Devin Cochran, Mason Miller, Colby Sorsdal, Giovanni Manu
Departed/released: Taylor Decker
In-house free agents still available: Jamarco Jones
Many rejoiced at the announcement that Decker would return for an 11th season, but it appears he and the Lions had different visions for what, exactly, that would entail. The Lions cut $11.6 million from the salary cap by releasing him, with $5 million of that newfound cash going to Borom, who started 11 games last season. Borom’s salary tells us a lot about what the Lions think about him: clearly, he’s somebody they believe can fight for a starting job with an incoming rookie, or at least start in a pinch.
We already know that general manager Brad Holmes doesn’t have enough conviction to throw Manu into the mix for a starting job, and we don’t think the Lions will simply hand a starting gig to someone like Borom, which likely suggests the Lions will be aggressive about adding a top prospect via the draft. If Detroit can land someone the likes of Monroe Freeling (Georgia) or Caleb Lomu (Utah), the addition of Borom gives the Lions a strong baseline to work with at tackle — even if the situation opposite of Sewell is relatively uninspiring right now.
Related: Signing with hometown Lions ‘surreal’ for Larry Borom: ‘Doesn’t feel real’
Cornerback
Added/retained: Roger McCreary, Rock Ya-Sin, Christian Izien
Also under contract: D.J. Reed, Terrion Arnold, Ennis Rakestraw, Khalil Dorsey, Nick Whiteside
Departed/released: Amik Robertson
In-house free agents still available: Arthur Maulet, Avonte Maddox
Detroit has swiftly addressed its deficiencies at corner, while giving itself potential solutions at nickelback and safety. All of the Lions’ moves in this department have been low-priced acquisitions — which was always going to be the case, considering they invested $48 million into a contract for Reed and used recent first- and second-round capital on Arnold and Rakestraw, respectively — but the players they’ve landed and retained all carry some intrigue.
Ya-Sin was the Lions’ best cover corner last season, and signed back for a mere $3.2 million. Izien is a worthy competitor for the starting nickelback job and also has experience at safety, where we could see him filling in as Kerby Joseph and Brian Branch work back from injuries. Same goes for McCreary, who will likely have the chance to compete at nickel while also possessing outside versatility. The Lions could continue to add here in free agency and the draft, but they’ve done a good job of bringing in young players with upside and versatility to boot.
Related: Why the Detroit Lions were fortunate to re-sign corner Rock Ya-Sin
Related: Fueled by doubters, Christian Izien confident he’ll find role with Lions
Linebacker
Added/retained: Trevor Nowaske, Malcolm Rodriguez, Damone Clark
Also under contract: Jack Campbell, Derrick Barnes
Departed/released: Alex Anzalone, Grant Stuard
In-house free agents still available: Ezekiel Turner, Zach Cunningham
The Lions are entering a new era at linebacker, saying farewell to longtime captain Anzalone, who joined the Buccaneers. Campbell has ascended to All-Pro level and Barnes was given a $25.5 million contract last offseason, which made it difficult for the Lions to continue rostering an aging asset who wanted to get paid.
We still aren’t sure who will start in Anzalone’s former role as weak-side (Will) linebacker, but the three players Detroit has signed and retained will all have a chance to take it. Rodriguez is a trusted run defender; Nowaske is a developmental success story who can impact the game in multiple ways; Clark can give the Lions a ton of special-teams snaps with some upside remaining on defense.
Related: Damone Clark joins Detroit Lions; here is a closer look at linebacker
With just five linebackers on the roster, we expect the Lions to make several additions here. This position could also be an early-round target at the draft, where players like Anthony Hill Jr. (Texas), CJ Allen (Georgia) and Kyle Louis (Pittsburgh) could have their names called by Detroit in the second round.
What’s the word?
While it seemed like the Lions were poised for a big free-agency period based on comments from Dan Campbell about adding more competition, it appears we misread that a bit; it’s clear now they were instead talking about adding hungry, young players with upside, rather than splurging on big-money players. This, of course, is not much different from past approaches; but letting go of culture-setters like Anzalone, Decker and Glasgow certainly is.
Detractors will point to the lack of a big-ticket player as a sign that the Lions haven’t done enough in free agency, which is a fair critique. We’re especially concerned about defensive end, which has added a high-floor player with upside in Wonnum, but isn’t clearly better than it was at the start of free agency.
Still, the Lions don’t have much cap space left, even after restructuring Jared Goff’s contract. And for all the flaws of the players they’ve signed — inevitable when you’re making signings from the bargain bin — Holmes deserves credit for the fact that each of them has a clear path to being contributors in 2026.
If there’s one thing we’re keeping an extra close eye on, it’s how the Lions land the plane at tackle. We don’t love that they’ve seemingly boxed themselves into drafting one with the No. 17 pick, especially because it seems possible that all the tackles they like are gone by that point, and they have too many holes to use serious capital for a trade-up. But again, if they land the player they like at that position, you could consider the trade of Decker for Borom and a first-round pick to be a massive win for both 2026 and the future at large.
nbianchi@detroitnews.com
@nolanbianchi
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: After DJ Wonnum add, where do Lions stand on free-agent needs?
Reporting by Nolan Bianchi, The Detroit News / The Detroit News
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