ALLEN PARK, Mich. – Lions coach Dan Campbell believes this is the most complete roster he’s had since taking over in Detroit.
With the cut day on Tuesday, both Campbell and General Manager Brad Holmes will have difficult decisions to make. Nevertheless, he feels optimistic about the team’s performance in offense, defense, and special teams, heading into the Week 1 matchup against Green Bay on September 7. Since the arrival of Campbell and Holmes in 2021, the Lions have evolved from a 3-13-1 record in 2021, to 9-8 in 2022, to 12-5 in 2023, to reach a 15-2 record in 2024. The Lions led the NFL in points per game last season (33.2) for the second time in franchise history, but lost both coordinators to head coaching jobs: offensive coordinator Ben Johnson went to the Chicago Bears and defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn was hired by the New York Jets. Despite this, Campbell trusts his team. Veteran quarterback Jared Goff leads the offense, along with first-team All-Pro selections Amon-Ra St. Brown, Kerby Joseph, and Penei Sewell. Detroit’s defense ranked seventh in the NFL in points allowed per game (20.1), despite having a record 16 players on injured reserve last December. Collectively, Campbell also believes the defensive unit, led by first-year coordinator Kelvin Sheppard, is among the best he’s had.“Year 5, this is the best feeling we’ve had from start to finish,” Campbell declared. “That said, there are still holes, but I always mention this, every roster has holes. You’re never going to get it exactly how you want it, but from where we’ve come from, year after year, we’ve gone up another level.”
Dan Campbell, Lions coach
“I think we’re certainly up there,” Campbell said. “I mean, it’s a really good unit. We stay healthy, we keep growing, getting better, learning from our mistakes. We have guys that are playmakers. We have guys that are smart. We can make a lot of adjustments. We can get into a lot of different calls. We can create turnovers. So we just have to stay healthy and keep getting better.”
Dan Campbell, Lions coach
