A look at eight free agents the Detroit Lions may be interested in after the 2025 NFL Draft.
Halfway through the 2025 NFL Draft, Detroit Lions general manager Brad Holmes reminded the media that the player acquisition phase does not end with the draft.
“We’ll keep looking. I mean, we’ll turn over every stone. There are other avenues in the player acquisition process, so it doesn’t stop at the draft,” Holmes said.
Though the Lions are at their maximum of 90 rostered players right now, they will undoubtedly be looking for every opportunity to improve their roster from top to bottom. So here are eight free agents the Lions should consider adding now that the draft is over.
I am centering my focus on what I believe the Lions’ only two real remaining needs: edge defender and safety.
EDGE Za’Darius Smith
Let’s just get this one out of the way. According to Lions general manager Brad Holmes, the ball is in Smith’s and his agent’s court. Smith produced 4.0 sacks and 40 pressures in eight games with the Lions last year. Detroit clearly has a price limit on Smith after cutting him earlier this offseason—saving them $11 million over two years—but it’s unclear where Smith’s priorities currently lie.
EDGE DeMarcus Walker
The Lions hosted Walker for a free agency visit back in April. Walker brings some inside/outside versatility along the defensive line. And while he only has 7.0 sacks in the past two seasons (as a starter with the Bears), his size (6-foot-4, 280) and violence make him an above-average run defender.
EDGE Von Miller
I find it pretty hard to believe the Lions would be interested in Miller at this stage in his career (36 years old). But if they just wanted a situational pass rusher, Miller did produce 40 pressures and 6.0 sacks in just 332 snaps over 13 games (about 25 snaps per game).
EDGE Matthew Judon
Judon struggled last year with the Falcons but had a strong career with the Ravens and Patriots. In his best season—2022—he produced 15.5 sacks, 69 pressures, and even an above-average PFF run defense grade (67.0). Judon will be 33 before the season starts, though.
S Marcus Williams
I believe the Lions could use a veteran in the safety room, not just to provide much-needed experience behind their two starters but also to help get rookie Dan Jackson up to speed.
Williams has five years of experience in this defense from his days with the Saints—four of which directly overlapped with Dan Campbell’s time in New Orleans. The biggest downside here is that Williams may be seeking a starting role and hasn’t regularly played on special teams since 2018.
S Justin Simmons
Simmons may be in the same boat as Williams—seeking an opportunity to start. He’s just a year removed from a Pro Bowl season, but he’s a physical run defender who has plenty of ball skills, too (21 interceptions in the last five seasons). Last year, he signed a one-year, $7.5 million, fully guaranteed deal, so he’d likely only cost slightly less than that—probably too much for a backup role.
S Rayshawn Jenkins
Jenkins may be a more realistic target. Though he was a full-time starter since 2019, his last year with the Seahawks, he accepted a more situational role after being overtaken by Coby Bryant.
Jenkins, too, is a physical run defender who is probably more fit to be a box safety than single-high, but he has plenty of experience and has played a decent amount of special teams his entire career.
S Marcus Maye
Maye has two years of experience in the Saints defense (2022-23), so there is some schematic overlap even though he wasn’t in New Orleans when Campbell was. At 32 years old, Maye has struggled with injuries for much of his career, but he played in 15 games last year—starting four.
He played over 100 special teams snaps last year. It’s worth noting back in 2023, he was suspended for three games as a result of a DUI incident in 2021 and was arrested for aggravated assault in a road rage incident in 2022, but the charges were dropped due to a lack of evidence.
Leave a Reply