Category: Trades

Brad Holmes refutes any Lions interest in trading for QB Trey Lance

Detroit GM Brad Holmes refutes any Lions interest in trading for QB Trey Lance

In his first official press conference since the NFL draft, Lions GM Brad Holmes refuted any reports that he or the Lions were involved in any of the trade talks surrounding QB Trey Lance. The 49ers traded Lance to the Dallas Cowboys and there were reports linking the Lions to being a potential suitor.

Not so, says Holmes.

“The Trey Lance thing in particular, I never reached out. I never inquired about the player or anything,” Holmes stated.

Holmes continued,

“I think the report was that us and some other teams were like, in that group of being interested. But I never actively pursued the player. I can’t speak to the accuracy of the reports.”

The report from Dianna Russini of The Athletic indicated that the Lions “showed interest” in potentially acquiring the No. 3 overall pick in the 2021 NFL draft.

The Lions no longer owe the Jets any draft picks for Denzel Mims

The Lions will keep their own 2025 6th-rounder and the Jets hold onto their 7th-rounder that year now that Mims is waived

The Denzel Mims experiment ended earlier than hoped for both the Detroit Lions and the fledgling NFL receiver himself. The Lions waived Mims on Friday with a waived/injured designation.

Mims had not practiced in two weeks since suffering a leg injury in a practice-time collision with teammate Tracy Walker on August 5th. He had been working primarily at that point with the second-team offense, with mixed results. Mims had been emerging as a potential special teams asset, however.

Now that Mims is gone, so is the conditional draft pick that the Lions agreed to send to the Jets in the trade for the 2020 second-round pick earlier this summer. The Lions and Jets effectively canceled the trade, which involved a late-round pick swap in the 2025 draft. Both picks involved were conditional, based upon Mims making the Lions initial 53-man roster.

Mims is subject to waiver claims, though that seems unlikely given his injured status. If he goes unclaimed, the wideout reverts to the Lions’ injured reserve, with a five-day window to reach any potential injury settlement.

The Lions are trading for Jets WR Denzel Mims

The Lions and Jets are doing a late-round pick swap in the deal for Mims to head to Detroit

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There will be a new wide receiver in the Detroit Lions training camp right after it starts. The Lions are trading with the New York Jets to acquire fourth-year wideout Denzel Mims from New York,

According to a report from NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport, it’s a conditional 6th-round pick in 2024 headed to New York as compensation for Mims. New York will include a 2025 seventh-round pick as well.

The Jets were looking to unload Mims after two underwhelming seasons. There were reports indicating the team was prepared to release Mims if they didn’t find a trade partner. Detroit GM Brad Holmes was intrigued enough with Mims, a second-round pick out of Baylor in the 2020 NFL draft, to send two late-round picks and take a chance on the reclamation project.

In three seasons (30 games) with the Jets, Mims caught 42 passes on 92 targets for 676 yards and zero TDs. He caught 11 passes in 10 games for New York in 2022, including four starts.

The Lions make a trade to bring back kicker Riley Patterson

Patterson made 30-of-35 FG with the Jaguars in 2022 after spending half the 2021 campaign with the Lions

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The kicking carousel continues to spin in Detroit. On Thursday, the Lions made a trade to bring back one-time Detroit kicker Riley Patterson from the Jacksonville Jaguars in a trade.

Patterson was available after the Jaguars signed free agent Brandon McManus, who was released by the Denver Broncos a day earlier. Terms of the trade are not yet official, but it’s believed to be a 2026 7th-round pick.

Patterson kicked for the Lions in the 2021 campaign. In seven games, Patterson made 13-of-14 field goal attempts with a long make of 49 yards. He did not handle kickoff duties in his first stint in Detroit. For the Jaguars in 2022, Patterson made 30-of-35 field goals with a long of 53 yards, and produced a touchback rate of 50% on 88 kickoffs.

The trade came a few short hours after Lions special teams coach Dave Fipp gave a strong vote of confidence in current Lions kickers Michael Badgley and John Parker Romo. The Lions now have three kickers on the 90-man roster; to make room for Patterson, the team waived undrafted rookie wide receiver Keytaon Thompson.

Detroit Lions trade RB D’Andre Swift to the Philadelphia Eagles

Swift heads to the Eagles after the Lions drafted Jahmyr Gibbs

During the opening night of the 2023 NFL Draft, the Detroit Lions made a surprising move by drafting Alabama running back Jahmyr Gibbs with the 12th overall pick. The moment the pick was announced, it felt as if D’Andre Swift was going to be on his way out of Detroit.

Today, that move became official as it was reported that the Philadelphia Eagles had agreed to trade for the former Georgia running back. Per Adam Schefter, the Eagles are trading a fourth-round pick in 2025 and a seventh-round pick (219th overall) in the 2023 NFL Draft. For the Lions, they part ways with Swift and a seventh-round pick (249th overall) in the 2023 NFL Draft.

It’s bittersweet to see Swift get dealt because there was so much potential. Unfortunately, he never became the guy the Lions needed him to be. He’s a promising pass-catcher and it shows with his 156 career receptions. Injuries prevented him from getting consistent carries out of the backfield.

Swift will now return back home to Philadelphia. He was born and raised there and for his sake, I hope he’s able to carve out a significant role for the Eagles. With how the depth chart is designed, there’s potential for him to be the starting running back. He’ll need to stay healthy and will need to trust his vision and burst when hitting the hole.

As for the Lions, they move up 30 spots in the 7th round for the 2023 NFL Draft and get some future draft capital. Furthermore, the role that was designed for Swift in Detroit now belongs to Jahmyr Gibbs.

To me, there’s more burst and acceleration from Gibbs and he seems to trust his skill-set more consistently when the ball is in his hands. It’ll be interesting to see how offensive coordinator Ben Johnson deploys him in their new-look offense that features David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs.

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Lions trade back into the 3rd round and select Western Kentucky DT Brodric Martin

It was the 5th trade the Lions made on Friday night

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Just when you thought it was safe to get ready for Saturday’s final four rounds of the 2023 NFL draft, the Detroit Lions pulled off yet another trade.

The Lions packaged several day 3 picks together and traded up with the Denver Broncos to No. 96 overall. With that pick, the Lions selected Western Kentucky DT Brodric Martin.

Martin is a 6-foot-5, 337-pound nose tackle who occupied the middle of the defensive line for the Hilltoppers.

Trade details

The Lions traded Nos. 122, 139 and 168 to the Broncos for No. 96.

Lions trade back once again, Broncos select WR Marvin Mims

The Lions traded back twice from No. 55 overall

For a precious few minutes, the Detroit Lions held the No. 63 overall pick in the 2023 NFL draft. It didn’t last long.

Acquired in a previous trade with the Chiefs for the No. 55 overall pick, the Lions quickly flipped the 63rd pick to the Denver Broncos. Lions GM Brad Holmes sent No. 63 and No. 183–another pick acquired via trade during the draft–to Denver for No. 68 overall and No. 139.

With the 63rd pick, the Broncos selected Oklahoma wide receiver Marvin Mims.

 

 

The Lions trade back with the Chiefs in the second round

The Lions picked up 3 additional picks from the Chiefs for No. 55 overall

No, this is not a duplicate. The Detroit Lions have indeed made another trade in the 2023 NFL draft.

In the middle of the second round, the Lions executed a deal with the Kansas City Chiefs. The Chiefs traded up to No. 55 overall, sending the Lions three picks.

Detroit picked up No. 63 overall in the second round, plus No. 122 overall (4th round) and No. 249 (7th round) on Day 3. Detroit also sent back No. 194 overall (6th round) to the Chiefs.

Kansas City moved up to select SMU wide receiver Rashee Rice.

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Report: Lions fielding calls on RB D’Andre Swift

The Lions are receiving trade calls about RB D’Andre Swift after selecting Jahmyr Gibbs in the first round of the 2023 NFL draft

It didn’t take long for the NFL sharks to sniff blood in the water. As expected, the Detroit Lions are already receiving trade inquiries regarding running back D’Andre Swift following the team’s draft selection of RB Jahmyr Gibbs at No. 12 overall on Thursday night.

A report from ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reinforces the expectation that Swift might not be long for Detroit. Lions GM Brad Holmes was pretty transparent on Swift’s status in his Thursday night press conference, and opposing teams took note.

“Yeah, I mean, D’Andre, he’s still on our roster,” Holmes told the media after Thursday’s session. “He’s still part of our team. He’s still under contract with us. He’s a dynamic football player. So, (taking Gibbs) hasn’t really changed the math there, yet. But, you know, it is early.”

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Gibbs plays the same style and role as Swift, an outside-the-tackles playmaker with excellent receiving skills. After signing David Montgomery to a three-year contract in March, there doesn’t appear to be room for Swift, who is entering the final year of his contract.

What could the Lions expect in return for Swift? It’s difficult to precisely peg his value, but the expiring contract and ongoing durability issues likely limit any compensation for Swift to be a 6th or 7th-round pick in one of the next two drafts.

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Instant reaction to the Lions trading Jeff Okudah to the Falcons

Here are some quick, snap reactions on a few different angles to the Okudah trade.

Jeff Okudah is no longer a member of the Detroit Lions. The team ended the relationship on Tuesday bu trading the fourth-year cornerback to the Atlanta Falcons for a 2023 fifth-round pick.

While not entirely unexpected — the rumors were reaching fever pitch recently — it’s still something of a stunner.

Here are some quick, snap reactions on a few different angles to the Okudah trade.