It was an uneventful Tuesday for the Detroit Lions, as the NFL trade deadline came and went without the Lions getting involved.
The move shouldn’t come as much of a surprise given Lions coach Dan Campbell said last week that he didn’t expect the team to make a move.
“I love where we’re at. I think the roster is—I think it’s healthy, I think it’s in a good position, I think we have depth,” Campbell said.
However, some believed Detroit’s tune would change after Sunday’s loss to the Minnesota Vikings. Not only did the offensive line struggle in that game, but they lost starting left guard Christian Mahogany to a long-term injury. That led to a lot of speculation that Detroit would go after an offensive lineman, and Campbell even fanned those flames on Tuesday morning when he said on the radio that they had been looking at that position specifically.
“We’ve looked there, for sure,” Campbell said.
But, ultimately, nothing materialized. At this point, it isn’t clear if Detroit had any significant talks with teams about a specific player. However, it’s worth noting only a single offensive lineman was traded at the deadline. Saints offensive lineman Trevor Penning was sent to the Chargers for a 2027 sixth-round pick. Penning can play both tackle and guard (he started six games at left guard this year), but he’s certainly underperformed as a former first-round pick. He’s likely headed to a tackle position with Los Angeles given they recently lost Joe Alt for the season.
So where do the Lions go from here on the offensive line? Campbell provided some hints in his radio spot earlier on Tuesday.
“I see (Ka)‘Yode (Awosika), I see (Trystan) Colon getting some reps at guard maybe center as well. We may mix some things up here and move some guys around a little bit,” Campbell said. “Still thinking through all this while I’m getting ready for these guys and game planning. Then we’ve got (Michael) Niese on vet squad, we’ve got (Devin) Cochran on vet squad, we’ve got Kingsley (Eguakun) on vet squad. So we’ve got options here, and it’s about finding the right combination of guys and then just letting them cut it loose, get used to each other, and freakin’ play relentless, hard-nosed, finishing football.”
One other option to keep in mind for the long term is 2025 fifth-round pick Miles Frazier. The rookie has missed all of training camp and the season with a knee injury, but a tweet on Tuesday may suggest he’s finally ready to return to practice.
However, even if Frazier returns to practice, it would likely take him a significant amount of time to work his way up the depth chart given how long it’s been since he’s even practiced.
Defensively, there was never really a specific position the Lions seemed needy at. And as Campbell pointed out on Monday, they plan on getting a handful of players back before the season is over.
“We’re going to start getting some good players back. Some really good impact players,” Campbell said. “And you just named (Marcus) Davenport. We’re talking about (D.J.) Reed, we’re talking about (Josh) Paschal, we’re talking about (Malcolm) Rodriguez, (Khalil) Dorsey on special teams. So, we’ve got some guys that are going to start coming back and that does give you a boost. That helps you. Not only makes your team better, makes your roster better.”
Overall, while it’s certainly a bit disappointing to see the Lions inactive when they could have bolstered their most important position group (offensive line), it’s also worth considering a little perspective on the rest of the NFL. While the Colts, Cowboys, and Seahawks all gained headlines for big moves Tuesday, the Lions were far from the only Super Bowl contender that stayed stagnant at the deadline. Just look at the Packers, 49ers, Rams, Buccaneers, Bills, Chiefs, Patriots, and Broncos.
And, of course, considering how tight the Lions are going to be against the cap in 2026 and beyond, a blockbuster trade was likely never even considered by Detroit.
Onward.
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