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Dan Campbell’s Detroit Lions faceoff against Jim Harbaugh’s Los Angeles Chargers in the NFL’s pre-season Hall of Fame game at the end of this month.
However, we are still over a month away from the start of the Lions’ quest to win three consecutive division titles.
That time will pass by quickly, though, and before we know it, the NFL season will be kicked off.
Detroit enters the 2025 season looking to leave heartbreak in their rear view mirror. The Lions were upset by the Washington Commanders in the NFC Divisional Round, ending their run towards their first Super Bowl championship.
It was a somewhat eventful off-season, especially recently with the news of Frank Ragnow’s retirement and the continued Za’Darius Smith free agent saga. The question is, did the Lions do enough to maintain their dominance in a really good NFC North? In this article, I will be sharing my three biggest concerns for the team as we head into the new season.
The Offensive-Line:
The trenches on the offensive side of the ball are something Lions fans have not had to worry about in recent years. They have consistently been one of the best units in football. However, the Lions just lost the heart of this unit with Ragnow’s retirement.
Ragnow was drafted out of Arkansas 20th overall in 2018 by the Lions. He developed into one of the best centers in football and was probably the toughest player in the league over the span of his career.
He played through a number of significant injuries in his career, most notably a fractured throat in 2020, which he played through. He also battled chronic toe problems, a partially torn pectoral muscle, and numerous ankle, knee, back, and groin injuries. Despite his consistent presence on the injury report, Ragnow played through those variety of issues. His loss is a significant one for this team. He played at a high level even while battling those bumps and bruises.
While it’s certainly the driving factor in this being one of my main concerns, Ragnow is not the lone reason I have my doubts when it comes to Detroit’s offensive line. The Lions have two aging veterans in their unit. 31-year-old offensive tackle Taylor Decker, and 32-year-old interior offensive lineman Graham Glasgow (who is a potential Ragnow replacement at center), have their starting roles pretty much locked down. Last season, Decker and Glasgow both didn’t play as well as they did the year prior, and they are both older than the now retired Ragnow. Although their level of play didn’t dip too much in 2024, I am afraid the fall-off may be much more noticeable in 2025.
Fortunately, they have Penei Sewell, one of the best young players at any position in football, locked down as their anchor protecting Jared Goff’s blindside. They added Tate Ratledge and Miles Frazier in draft to help with interior OL depth and have Christian Mahogany returning for his second year after looking solid in a relief role last season. Ratledge is one of the candidates to take over at center. Frazier and Mahogany will fight for their spot on the roster, potentially replacing Kevin Zeitler, who left in free agency.
The Injury History:
A lot of the same faces that started week one in 2024 will remain in the lineup in 2025. Hopefully this time they can stay on the field.
There is no denying that this Lions’ roster has an unfortunate injury history, and it’s already starting again in 2025. Levi Onwuzerike is out for the season with a torn ACL that may have happened in training camp.
This was a team that appeared to be full steam ahead to a deep playoff run, but injuries contributed to their derailment. At one point, the Lions had 22 players on injured reserve, with the majority of those players being on defense.
Here are some of the notable injuries from last season:
Aidan Hutchinson: Suffered a season-ending broken leg, but has been cleared for the 2025 season.
Alim McNeill: Injured his knee, requiring a season-ending surgery and impacting the start of the 2025 season.
David Montgomery: Sustained an MCL injury that kept him out until the NFC Divisional game vs. Washington.
Alex Anzalone: Fractured his arm and was placed on injured reserve.
Malcolm Rodriguez: Suffered a torn ACL and was placed on injured reserve.
Carlton Davis: Fractured his jaw and missed the playoffs.
Other notable injuries: The Lions also dealt with injuries to players like Marcus Davenport, John Cominsky, Mekhi Wingo, Khalil Dorsey, Kalif Raymond, and more.
It’s football, injuries will happen, but Detroit can not afford to lose that many players again this year. You don’t want to see anyone get hurt, but the key players Detroit desperately needs to stay healthy are Jared Goff, Penei Sewell, Aidan Hutchinson, Jahmyr Gibbs, and Amon-Ra St. Brown.
The Pass Rush:
This is a broken record at this point, but it’s an undeniable weakness.
The Lions have improved in just about every category since Dan Campbell and Brad Holmes were hired. The pass rush is not one of those improvements. However, give Holmes some credit. He drafted Hutchinson and McNeil, two really good players on the defensive line. They have the players that you want to build around in the trenches. They just haven’t gotten much help from other names in that unit.
It obviously did not help that Hutchinson and McNeil went down with significant injuries last season when the team was struggling despite the duo’s best efforts. Hutchinson was on a record-setting pace before suffering his broken leg, and McNeil was one of the most efficient pass rushing interior defensive lineman in the league before his torn ACL.
The consensus seems to be that the reason for having so much concern about the pass rush is the fact that Detroit doesn’t have an established edge rusher on the opposite side of Hutchinson. There’s been a lot of talk about Za’Darius Smith (who I would love to see re-sign), who, in my opinion, shouldn’t have been released. Yes, an edge rusher opposite of Hutch is a need, but not the driving factor in my concern for the defensive line. I am far more worried about when McNeil will be back in the lineup. Without him, Hutchinson is on an island by himself. It will make Hutchinson more vulnerable playing without McNeil on the inside to take some of the attention away from Detroit’s star edge rusher.
McNeil’s stats speak for themselves:
2024 Season (14 games): 3.5 Sacks, 1 Pass Deflection, 1 Forced Fumble, 45 Pressures (15th among IDL)
Career (as of the end of the 2024 season): Games Played: 61, Sacks: 11.5, Forced Fumbles: 2, Pass Deflections: 3.
Even when he’s not getting ahold of the quarterback for sacks or deflecting passes, he is productive in the pass rush. He contributes even when it doesn’t go on the stat sheet. He’s a guy that opposing offensive lineman do not want to go against, and Detroit will miss that for a chunk of 2025. McNeil could be on the sidelines until late October at the earliest, or potentially sometime in November. I am worried Detroit’s pass rush is going to suffer until then.
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