Detroit’s radical franchise overhaul to the front office and coaching staff gives the Lions a rare chance to remake the roster, too. The new faces in charge of personnel decisions have different ties to different NFL teams they can exploit this offseason to help in the remake, too.
The Brad Holmes/Dan Campbell regime has direct recent ties to four NFL teams. Holmes, the new GM, comes from the Los Angeles Rams. So does assistant GM Ray Agnew.
New head coach Dan Campbell and defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn both worked for the New Orleans Saints for several seasons together before coming to Detroit.
Senior personal executive John Dorsey was the GM of the Cleveland Browns in 2018-2019 before serving as a consultant in 2020. New offensive coordinator Anthony Lynn was the head coach of the Los Angeles Chargers for the last four seasons.
That’s some pretty intimate familiarity and personal ties to four other NFL organizations who will have players leaving this offseason. Here are some choice unrestricted free agents from those teams and how they might be appealing to the amalgamation of the new regime in Detroit.