The Detroit Lions were one of the most dominant teams in the NFL last season, going 15-2. However, their defense definitely had some issues, and heading into 2025, there is a rather significant hole in the pass rush.
Outside of Aidan Hutchinson, the Lions don’t have anyone they cany rely on to consistently get to opposing quarterbacks, and considering they play in an NFC that contains a bunch of explosive offenses, this could be a major problem.
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The good news is that Detroit still has some time to remedy the issue before Week 1, and that is exactly what Colton Pouncy of The Athletic is expecting the Lions to do. He even mentioned Za’Darius Smith — who played for Detroit during the second half of last season — as a possibility.
“I was tempted to leave a spot on the 53-man roster open for a player such as Smith,” Pouncy wrote. “It really feels like they need someone else who has experience, given [Josh] Paschal’s delayed return and [Ahmed] Hassanein’s injury. At this point, I’d be surprised if they enter the season without an addition of some sort — but it’s getting concerning.”
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The Lions swung a trade to acquire Smith from the Cleveland Browns before the trade deadline last year. In eight games with the Browns, Smith totaled four sacks, which actually ranked second on the team to Hutchinson’s 7.5 (and keep in mind that Hutchinson appeared in just five contests before hitting injured reserve).
Smith somehow remains available in free agency in spite of the fact that he totaled nine sacks overall last season. Heck, the Lions even cut him after the 2024 campaign. At this point, Detroit may be better served reuniting with him.
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The Lions could also look at a veteran like Jadeveon Clowney, the former No. 1 overall pick who has bounced around quite a bit throughout his NFL tenure, but has been mostly productive wherever he has gone.
Detroit really cannot afford to head into the season with such a pedestrian pass rush. Not if it plans to contend for a Super Bowl.
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