Allen Park — It had been a while since I checked the mailbox, so before catching a flight to Arizona Saturday morning, I thought I’d take a look to see what’s on the mind of Detroit Lions fans.
Q: If a trade is made, any hints on who the Lions might look at? — Stephen Richlich
Justin: I wanted to include this question, because it’s obviously a hot topic, even if I don’t have a good answer. Yet. I just haven’t sat down and done a deep dive on viable trade targets.
First of all, it’s a big project, because I want to be both thorough and thoughtful, and there’s just not enough time during a typical game week, with the standard responsibilities.
Secondly, the trade deadline is still a month away and there’s a reason most of the deals typically happen far closer to that date. That’s when the buyers and sellers clarify a bit more, expanding a potential list of targets.
I will acknowledge that I took a cursory glance at the cornerbacks on teams perceived to be sellers and there isn’t another Joey Porter Jr.-caliber talent likely to be on the block.
When I get around to exploring the topic more comprehensively, potentially during the upcoming bye, defensive backs are going to be a clear focus.
Q: Dan Campbell is saying talent is not the issue in the secondary, while simultaneously stating his continued faith in Kelvin Sheppard. What do you think would possibly change first — an interim DC or external additions to the secondary? — PengShei
Q: Who is likely next in line if Sheppard is removed from DC? — The Respected Madman
Justin: Another embarrassing performance in Arizona could alter my perspective, but I don’t get the sense Campbell is seriously considering a change at defensive coordinator. However, we do know the team has weighed upgrades to its secondary, given the coach’s admission that general manager Brad Holmes seriously explored the Porter market.
Even if we define additions to the secondary as starting-caliber, I believe it’s far more likely that the Lions go that direction in the coming weeks than pulling the plug on Sheppard mid-season.
Now, if I’m wrong in that assessment — which I’m rooting in the patience Campbell has previously shown with the defensive coordinator role — I’d lean toward Jim O’Neil getting the nod over Kacy Rodgers as the interim choice.
Those are the two on the staff with coordinator experience, but O’Neil more recently called plays, albeit at the college level, and I think there would be a reluctance of disrupting the defensive line room given that unit has been one of the few bright spots defensively.
Q: Any thoughts on whether Gio Manu will ever return? Could be useful in jumbo. — Arge Ó Néill
Justin: I suspect we see Manu have his acclimation clock started shortly after the bye week. His lower-body injury didn’t require surgery, he’s been working to the side with a trainer in recent days and his body has responded positively to those workouts and the treatment plan.
How much he can help remains to be seen. The Lions clearly like using the jumbo look, and Larry Borom hasn’t been stellar in those reps, but I would anticipate Juice Scruggs as the next man up in that role, based on practice reps during training camp.
Honestly, I kind of like the idea of having an interior lineman at that spot. They might not have the reach of someone like Manu, but they’re more accustomed to pulling and climbing to the second level, giving you more flexibility with your blocking designs.
Q: If they lose Sunday will the panic button be pushed in Allen Park? — Mike Abrams
Justin: It’s the end of the week, so maybe my brain isn’t firing on all cylinders, but in what situation does panic solve anything? It’s a 17-game season, every game matters, so there’s always a sense of urgency.
And the upcoming break gives both the coaching staff and front office some down time to explore potential fixes. But do you really want leadership that abandons the core principles that got the franchise to this level after decades of failure just because of a relatively small sample size?
Q: Who do you think gouges the defense most this weekend: McBride, Love, Wilson or Harrison? Give us who has most yards and who has most touchdowns— Paul S
Justin: Based on comments from Campbell this week, I anticipate a concerted effort to take away the opposition’s best player, which is tight end Trey McBride. I expect to see a steady dose of disruptive jams at the line of scrimmage and some brackets/cloud coverage within their zone and man looks.
And it shouldn’t be Marvin Harrison Jr., who hasn’t been close to the player we expected when the Cardinals took him fourth overall in 2024. He’s struggling right now, and potentially on the trade block. The receiver hasn’t topped three catches or 40 yards this season.
I love Jeremiyah Love, and not because he was my top pick in the stupid fantasy football dynasty league I’ve been apart of for two decades and haven’t been able to successfully quit. However, I expect his touches to be limited while he continues to work through a high ankle sprain.
So that leaves Michael Wilson, someone I’ve felt has been underrated for a while, but got his due with a contract extension this offseason. He’s currently leading the Cardinals in receiving, and Detroit’s outside corners have struggled, regardless of the coverage schemes.
Wilson has size and is a good route runner. I wouldn’t expect a Tet McMillan-type showing, but 100 yards and a score is realistic.
Q: Do you feel that the offseason strategy to get younger and hungrier has resulted in some unintended consequences in regards to missed assignments, consistency and discipline? — Bill Schwab Jr
Justin: If we listened to Campbell this offseason, we could even call it expected.
He said this in June:
“Well, certainly we’re younger than we were and there are good things about that, the youth, and then there's things about it that we're going to have to work through, because as you know, it's about — there's going to be a learning curve for some guys, development and how fast they can go,” Campbell said.
“…I think there's always a balance when you get into the season of, there could be a player that's a tick better,” Campbell continued. “He’s an older player, he's a veteran player, but if you really feel like a young guy is learning from his mistakes and is growing, not making the same mistake twice and you feel constant growth, at some point it's time to push him into that position and let him go because, in about four weeks they will be better and then they'll continue to grow from there. If that's not showing up, I don't care who those players are, we are not going through it, we're not going to do it.”
So, yeah, you’re seeing some of that. You’re seeing it with Skyler Gill-Howard and Trevor Nowaske, and in smaller sample sizes, with Derrick Moore and Jimmy Rolder. Christian Izien probably fits into that conversation, as well. And you’ll probably see it with cornerback Keith Abney as he gets more work this week.
But, as Campbell also noted, you have to see growth and learning from mistakes, or you eventually have to reel them back in and go with the trusted veteran. I’d suspect that’s why Jalen Mills is in line for a bigger role this week.
Q: How long does it generally take for a new player to get up to speed in a new system. How long would it take for a new acquisition to not be limited by this leaning curve? —Greg Fahr
Justin: Depends on the individual, the experience and the position.
A defensive end or a man-to-man corner can be plug-and-play more quickly than a middle linebacker or safety.
Going back to Mills, he’s played cornerback, nickel and safety during his career. He’s played in a variety of systems and has plenty of experience working in Detroit’s preferred Cover-3. However, Detroit’s rules aren’t necessarily the same as the ones in Houston or Philadelphia, regarding that coverage look.
Mills has to flush a lot of what he already knows and reprogram the brain to do what Detroit’s coaches want him to do. In a casual conversation in the locker room this week, we were talking about it and he said it usually takes him one or two weeks to have a good enough feel to be assignment-sound, but that’s also because he asks a ton of questions every day to make sure he understands all the nuances.
Q: If this season doesn’t get better soon, given that the LaPorta extension is on hold, would the Lions likely trade him for picks to re-imagine this secondary? — Dean Pippio
Q: Sam LaPorta seems like he has potential to be a top-five TE for the rest of his career now that he his healthy again. The Lions scored around seven points per game more last year when he was healthy vs post injury. Why on earth is this fan base seemingly so fine with trading him away? — tuonni
Justin: I’m no longer surprised how quickly a portion of the online fanbase turns on a guy when there’s a bump in the road with their contract talks.
In my opinion, the Lions should not consider trading LaPorta under any circumstances. OK, maybe one circumstance: They lose the next four games and decide to reboot at the position like they did when they traded T.J. Hockenson four years ago.
LaPorta is a critical piece to the offense and they have no viable replacement for not only his contributions in the pass game, but also his blocking. No one could have guessed it when the team drafted him, but he’s developed into their most reliable run blocker at the position.
Obviously, the offense wasn’t as good without him last year. And there’s a reason he’s playing close to 90% of snaps this year. If you remove him from the equation, even with all the other weapons Detroit has, they’re a worse offense.
And yes, I get it, the Lions could use upgrades on defense, especially the secondary. But you can’t subtract from your strength to strengthen your weakness. Those things cancel each other out and your problems aren’t solved, they’re just different.
If the Lions are going to make a trade, it will almost certainly be draft compensation going the other way.
Now, if the piece coming back factors into your future beyond this season, then there might be a question on how that impacts re-signing LaPorta, but that’s an offseason problem to navigate.
Q: Brian Branch’s biggest strength is often considered his versatility. When he returns, is there any indication on who might lose the most snaps to him? — Xavier
Justin: It almost certainly takes the most away from Izien. Chuck Clark has been far from perfect, but he’s the more assignment-sound of the stopgap safeties.
Depending on how the Lions structure their nickel package with Branch, it could also take work away from Roger McCreary/Abney.
Also, on that front, I would think they might be able to play more nickel, so that takes a linebacker off the field, which would be Malcolm Rodriguez/Nowaske.
Q: Is there a paradox in the defensive strategy and personnel changes from last year to focus on QB pressure that has opened up vulnerabilities on stopping the run? — JFL
Justin: My personal assessment is the bigger conundrum relates to how aggressively the Lions ask their linebackers to play the run, which sees them crashing on play-action and puts them in scramble mode to reach their zone-drop depth after a fake. The result is quarterbacks dropping it behind the underneath layer of the zone between the backers and safeties.
A stated goal this season was reducing explosive plays, but these incongruent strategies are fueling them, in my opinion.
Q: How does Goff get four batted passes and Bryce Young gets zero? — Matt Cameron
Justin: It’s a combination of how it’s coached, the individual defensive players’ knack for getting a hand in the passing lane, and how well the QB can work outside the framework of the pocket.
It’s no secret that Goff lacks the dual-threat ability of many of the league’s current passers, so many defenses are going to key in on getting their hands up when their rushes stall.
It so happens that they ran into an opponent that’s really good at that strategy, particularly defensive tackle Derrick Brown, who led the league in bat downs in 2025. That one he had on third down deep in the red zone was ridiculous. He was blocked up by guard Christian Mahogany and still got a hand up at the last possible moment with cat-like quickness. You just chalk that up to a great player making a great play.
Overall, Goff definitely gets more batted down than most QBs. He was tied for third-most in the league last year behind Trevor Lawrence and Caleb Williams. This year, Goff’s eight bat downs rank fourth. However, there are 15 QBs who have had at least six knocked away at the line.
I think you have to be aware of it, but you can’t obsess over the issue. If you’re a QB who is going to stand tall in the pocket and confidently deliver the ball with square shoulders, they’re going to happen.
As for Young, the Lions were credited with batting two, according to data tracked by PFF. He’s tied with Goff with eight on the season. There’s something to be said for having a quick trigger, but Young also has more mobility to escape a collapsing pocket.
Chuckled at the part where you mentioned you aren’t surprised when fans turn on a player due to contract talks, because it isn’t something that surprises me nor I understand either. I’ve watched the Lions from 2000 to present. I’ve seen bad football for a majority of it, and a total of 5 playoff years. The fact that fans turn on players like LaPorta, Anzalone, Taylor Decker, players who significantly contributed to some of the only good football we have ever seen, will never make sense to me at all.
I can’t believe the lions would waste an IR return slot on Gio, certainly was not expecting that.