With the Detroit Lions standing pat at the NFL trade deadline, coach Dan Campbell faced a flurry of questions on Wednesday for why the team didn’t feel the need to make a move. Earlier on Tuesday, Campbell said they were looking—particularly at their currently-injured offensive line position—but he revealed the day after that nothing worthwhile materialized.
“There was nothing that was, I would say, enough to be noteworthy,” Campbell said. “I mean it was certainly more intriguing, but not—it wasn’t good enough. So, all good. All good. We’re ready to roll.”
Instead of adding players at the trade deadline, the Lions opted to add three offensive lineman to their practice squad: veterans Netane Muti and Chris Hubbard, along with rookie lineman Jack Conley. Additionally, the Lions have players who have been around the program that they trust in reserve roles, including Kayode Awosika, Trystan Colon, and practice squadders Kingsley Eguakun and Michael Niese.
While Campbell suggested sometimes they’ll identify a player who may be better than in-house options, it’s often not worth the price to acquire them.
“Yeah, he’s a little better, but is it really worth that for what you’re giving up versus the next guy we have ready to go as the backup that’s coming off of vet squad?” Campbell said. “Those most of the time are the ones that we are like, ‘Well, no I don’t think so.’ And we’ve been pretty good so far. Doesn’t mean it’s perfect, but that’s just how we feel.”
Some have hoped the Lions would be more aggressive with trades, spending high draft picks to acquire premier talent and go “all-in” for a Super Bowl. With Lions general manager Brad Holmes cutting his teeth under Rams general manager Les Snead and his “F— them picks” mentality, many wondered if Holmes would operate similarly. That has not been the case as of yet, and while Campbell rejected the idea that they would never make a move like that, he did admit that aggression doesn’t really currently fit their plan of draft, develop, and pay their internal options.
“That’s a lot of capital, especially with guys that we’ve got that we’re signing and we want to continue to sign to keep what we have intact,” Campbell said. “Now, you’re not only throwing the picks, you’ve also got to pay that player too, probably. Otherwise, why are you throwing all the picks at a guy that you’re buying him for a year? And so then it really kind of—everything that we planned for, you just might as well throw it in the trash.”
Campbell is now turning his focus to the guys they have in the building. It’s his job to get them ready for each Sunday and give the team the best chance to win the game. He’s confident they have the players necessary to do that.
“I feel good. I’ll say this again, my job is to freaking get these guys ready to play on Sunday, and I’ve got the roster to do it,” Campbell said. “We’ve got depth, we’ve got the dudes, we’ve got weapons, we’ve got a quarterback. I’ve got to do my part. I’ve got to do my job and I’ve got to get them ready and I’ve got to make sure we cross all the T’s, dot the I’s. And that we turn over every stone and make sure our guys are ready to roll and we help them get ready to roll. So, I’m good. I feel great, I really do.”
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