There is a lot of buzz about the Detroit Lions lately, but not everyone is buying into the hype for the team coming off the lousy 3-13-1 season. Count ESPN’s Bill Barnwell among those who aren’t big believers in the alleged improvement in Detroit.
Barnwell ranks the Lions offseason 27th out of 32 in his breakdown ranking the offseasons of the NFL teams.
As Barnwell leads off in the notes of the “what went wrong” section,
I applaud Detroit’s patience and restraint, but are we sure the best thing to do after a 3-13-1 season is double down on only signing Lions?
It’s a sentiment shared by many, including my own thoughts expressed on the Detroit Lions Podcast. Prioritizing below-average 2021 Lions players like QB Tim Boyle, LB Alex Anzalone, WR Kalif Raymond and S C.J. Moore is indeed a decision that deserves critical scrutiny. The Lions clearly value continuity and culture, and that helped shape the decision Holmes made in keeping so many free agents in the den.
Interestingly, the tone from Barnwell in the critical section isn’t really all that negative. It’s more of a quizzical pondering of the decisions than an outright condemmation. And the positives Barnwell notes are filled with effusive praise of moves like adding WR DJ Chark and drafting Aidan Hutchinson No. 2 overall.