Is the Detroit Lions roster better right now?
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podcast page, leave your submission there and we'll pick the best one and play it on the air. Maybe we'll do one tomorrow as well. A lot of discussion about the Lions roster. Look, we are now four days into free agency and two things can be true at the same time. I can still be of the belief that the Detroit Lions are the best team in the NFC North and I still think we'll be a threat to get to the Super Bowl next year.

I also can think that right here, right now, today, the Lions roster might not be as good as it was as we sat on Monday before free agency. We'll get into that coming up momentarily on the program. I want to get into the offensive line situation. I want to talk about Jared Goff because there are so many teams. I was scouring the internet last night. I was scrolling and doom scrolling and staying up late. And I'm looking through some of the quarterback situations in this league.

And even in our own division, there are some that are questionable. And this is what makes me feel better about the Lions situation than maybe some of these other teams. We'll get into that today as well, coming up here on Locked on Lions as well. Thanks, everybody, for being here. Thanks for checking us out again and just being with us here on Locked on Lions daily on this very podcast.

All right. So we have, this always happens, right? We had John Butch go on yesterday from lockdown jets. We were recording around five o'clock, five 30, and then boom, the news hits right as I got done with the podcast and I was editing and

That Kevin Zeitler is leaving the Lions to go to the Tennessee Titans to sign a one-year $9 million deal. He's 36 years of age. He was a tremendous pickup by Brad Holmes last year. Sat at right guard, played pretty much every game. I think he missed one or two games, but was very, very solid. PFF graded him over 80. And you never had to worry about Kevin Zeitler when he was on the field because he was that good.

Pro Bowl alternate and just very, very solid at that spot. And I got to say, an upgrade from right guard from a year ago with Graham Glasgow. And I guess you could also put Jonah Jackson in that equation because Jackson, of course, was at left guard, left to go to the Rams. Glasgow moved from right to left and Zeitler played right guard. He was tremendous.

But Zeitler is part of the conversation that I want to get into today about the Lions roster, because right now I believe after free agency with whom they've lost and with whom they've added, I don't think they're a better football team. Again, I can also think the Lions are going to be just fine because where does Brad Holmes do his best work? Or as some of you lame-os like to say, where does Brad cook in the draft?

His best work is done with his player personnel folks, his scouts, looking at college players, finding these diamonds in the rough or finding these guys that nobody thought they should take that high. Jameer Gibbs, Jack Campbell, Brian Branch, they traded up to get in the second round. You know what I'm talking about.

That's where Brad Holmes does his best work is the draft. And we are weeks away from the draft. With that being said, I look at the current situation for the Lions. We're talking about free agency. Who have the Lions added? They've made three additions. DJ Reed from the Jets, three years, 48 million.

Roy Lopez, he's here, he's there, he's every effing where. One-year, $4.65 million from Arizona. And Colts linebacker Grant Stewart on a one-year deal, special teams ace. Who have the Lions lost in free agency? Hang on, where's the list? I want to do this right. The Lions lost, where's my subtractions list? Oh my gosh. Okay.

uh lions lost kevin zeitler to the titans carlton davis to the jets kindle vildor today signed with the bucks see ya uh iffy malafonu one year four million with the dolphins gone james mitchell tight end signed with carolina maurice alexander return man to the stars uh reuniting with ben johnson and uh

That crew in Chicago, Antoine Randall-El and the crew in Chicago. Lions have re-signed. Come on, Craig. Craig Reynolds, Dan Skipper, Marcus Davenport, Miles Adams, Derek Barnes, Levi Onzorike, Zeke Turner, Maurice Norris, and Anthony Pittman. They've also let go for salary cap purposes. This does not mean that they're definitely not coming back. You just never know.

Jalen Reese-Maben, who I think is gone, and Z'Darrius Smith. So some of the big ones include Reed, Lopez, and Stewart in, Zeitler, Davis, Ify, gone. All right? I said at the start of free agency, we've been talking about this offseason, I wanted the Lions to at least re-sign and bring back Carlton Davis or Kevin Zeitler.

Because I believed that last year they really missed Davis when he went down with a broken jaw. He was their best corner. He was a veteran, played very well. And I wanted him back. He priced himself out. And good for him. He got $20 million a year. DJ Reed got $16 million. So the Lions saved $12 million over three years. The Zeitler loss yesterday, I hate it. I hate it. I hate it. Yes, Christian Mahogany, the sixth-round pick last year from Boston College, is

stepped in last year at both left guard and right guard and played good football. He did. He did a really nice job. And at the time of recording right now, around four o'clock again, things could happen, but I'm telling you right now, the loss of Zeitler is a little bit of a kick in the crotch. It really is. Lions, I guess, didn't want to go any higher than what they may be offered. Maybe they offered the same deal as a year ago, one year, six, six and a half million.

He ends up taking nine with Tennessee, which is just a random place to sign. The Tennessee Titans have no identity. I don't know who their quarterback is. Heck, I don't even know their coaches. The Callahan kid, no clue. But that's where he's going. Maybe that was the best deal he was offered. A lot of times, that's what it is. It's about money. The agent said, Lions are offering a one at six.

Tennessee is offering one at nine, and maybe he took that deal. I know he's got family in Nashville from what I'm reading, and he reunites with some coaches that he's been with in the past. That one hurts because where are the Lions the best? We always talk about where do they hang their hat? When the Lions kick your ass and when David Montgomery is pounding you on the ground and Jameer Gibbs is doing his thing and Goff's throwing for 400 yards, why is all that happening? A lot of it's happening because of the offensive line.

That offensive line, when it was healthy last year with Decker and Glasgow and Ragnow and Zeitler and Sewell, was as good an offensive line as there was in the league. And Kevin Zeitler was a big piece, big part of it. I know not a lot of people talk about right guard. I know there's no right guard highlights. All right, this isn't like the underwear Olympics at the combine where you go, ooh, and ah, when guys jump and run. Zeitler was really good. And if the plan...

is to move Mahogany to right guard and to run it back with Graham Glasgow at left guard. We've talked about it on the show. Jeff Riston's written about it at Lionswire. Graham Glasgow had a really bad second half of last year. He did not play well. He's younger than Zeitler, so I'm not going to say he's getting up there in age, but his play deteriorated last year.

Now, the Lions have a first-round pick at 28. They've got a second-round pick at 60. They've got a third-round compensatory pick for losing Aaron Glenn to the Jets, and they'll get another one next year. They've got a fourth-rounder. The Lions should be looking to draft an offensive lineman, and if they take one at 28, first-round picks to me play and start. Second-round pick could play and start. Brad Holmes has drafted some very good ones, including Panay Sewell.

Mahogany last year was a sixth round pick and he graded out great. But is the roster better right now than it was a year ago or at the end of the season or on Monday? No, it's not. It's not. Carlton Davis to me is a little bit better than DJ. DJ Reed was a good fix. DJ Reed is a good replacement for Carlton Davis. They're very similar. They're very similar. It's close. Losing Zeitler hurts.

What's the plan at right guard? I want to know. I'd like to see that before I sit here and tell you, oh, yeah, the Lions are going to be great. I think they are going to be good, but I'm not going to sit here and tell you that I'm not a little bit concerned about where the offensive line is right now losing Zeitler. That's the guy I wanted back or one of the guys I wanted back. Now, the Lions also drafted Giovanni Manu last year. Big tackle project had really a developmental year this past year.

Maybe he steps up. Maybe they make him turn him from a tackle to a guard. It's happened before. Maybe he's the missing piece. I don't know. But I think this team, at least with one of the first two picks, is going to take an offensive line. And Brad Holmes knows them very well. He's a very good judge of that talent. All right. More on the offensive line coming up next. I want to get into that. Also, Jared Goff has got to get some love from me because what they're talking about in other cities, you would not believe.

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We are back, everybody, in a Thursday edition of Locked on Lions, Locked on Podcast Network, your team every day. Got to give a shout out to Bill Green, one of our everydayers. BG's a great dude, and was talking Lions with me last night at an event, and appreciate Bill's support here on the podcast. All right, one other note about the offensive line, and I mentioned before about Gio Manu, guys like Colby Soaresdahl and others. The one thing that the Lions have an advantage on

even in losing Kevin Zeitler. And again, I'll tell you, I really wished he would have stayed. I don't know if the Lions just refused to go up to where the Titans were at 9 million or what the Lions are thinking with their cap. Eventually we'll find out. But one of the reasons why I still have faith that whomever they put in at right guard, or let's say Mahogany beats out Glasgow at left guard and they draft a right guard or somebody steps up, the Lions have Hank Fraley.

And when you have good coaches and you have good assistant coaches and you retain these guys, and again, the Lions had a lot of attrition at the coaching staff level this year because they've had success. When you win 15 games, that means other teams want to pilfer your people away. We knew Ben Johnson was leaving. He took some people with him. We knew Aaron Glenn was leaving. He took some people, Tanner Engstrand, with him. It's going to happen.

But the one guy that stayed and those that stay will be champions. Hank Fraley does a heck of a job. And there's a reason why teams are trying to hire him away to be their O-line coach. The Lions have made him assistant head coach now. He's going to be the run game coordinator. He got another raise. He's really good.

So when we sit here and go, who's going to play right guard? We freak out before the draft, which is partly my fault. I'm partly doing that. Remember, Hank Fraley is a guy that can take some of these young dudes, including a guy like Manu, and maybe turn them into something. And maybe just maybe they upgrade. Maybe Mahogany moves to left guard. Glasgow is kind of a swing guy as a backup. And maybe the right guard is Manu. Or maybe it's whomever they draft. And maybe they get better.

But look at the way Frank Ragnow has gotten better. Look at the way Taylor Decker, who at times is up and down. This past year, the league thought he got better, so much so that he made his first Pro Bowl. I know he's an alternate, but you know him. He catched my drift. You see how dominant a player a guy like Panay Sewell is. You see what Hank Fraley could do with Christian Mahogany last year, who really didn't have a training camp due to a heavy illness that he had and turned him into a pretty darn good player when he got opportunities last year.

That game against the Bears where he started, he played great. Played great. So Hank Fraley is a feather in our cap, certainly here in Detroit. The Jared Goff situation.

All the time, I run into Lions fans. Oh, you know, what about Goff? Are you concerned? We can never get over the hump with him. I don't think the Lions can ever win a Super Bowl with Jared Goff. And I always say, no, no, no. He's a top five MVP finalist. Guy had a great season. Lousy last game, okay, but really good year again. And as Brad Holmes has said and Dan Campbell, they love him. And he's not going anywhere. But I was thinking about this today, kind of scrolling and looking at the situation. You know, Aaron Rodgers is...

playing the game right now. He's deciding, it sounds like between Pittsburgh, you know, there's, there's reports out there that the Steelers want him, but he wants to go to Minnesota where the Vikings have JJ McCarthy. Uh, you know, maybe the giants could be in play for Aaron Rogers, Russell Wilson, visiting the Browns today. Then he'll visit the giants tomorrow. Um, you know, the discussion in Minnesota, uh,

JJ's the guy, right? Well, is he a guy? Because the guy last year who helped us win 14 games, Sam Darnold, just left. But is McCarthy going to come in and do as well as Darnold did this past year? I know Darnold's last two games were not good. Week 18 against the Lions in the playoff game, but still had a fantastic year and just got rewarded by Seattle with three years and $110 million. Think about these quarterback situations. I'm laughing my ass off.

that the New York Jets just gave Justin Fields $20 million. The New Orleans Saints, who reside in the same conference as your Honolulu Blue and Silver Gladiators, are going to bite the bullet and see if they can give Derek Carr another spin. You know, the Rams looked out there and went, we better bring Stafford back because there's nothing but crap out there. What are we going to do? Right?

The Seahawks traded Gino Smith to the Raiders to sign Darnold. And that's still not etched in stone that that's going to work out. The Raiders think they can really do well with Gino Smith. But if Gino Smith was really, really good and somebody that the Seahawks felt was going to take them to the next level, wouldn't they have kept him?

Everybody thinks that Caleb Williams and the Bears and Ben Johnson is just going to be the ultimate marriage. And they got a new offensive line. There's no guarantees that Caleb still is not holding the ball too long. People talk about New York as being the epicenter for a lot of sports. There's nothing better than Madison Square Garden and the Yankees, Jets and Giants. Neither of those teams have quarterbacks. The Giants don't have a quarterback right now. What about Indianapolis? Imagine being a Colts fan, which my son is.

You're happy with free agency. You got a couple of good defensive backs. You're going to go into training camp this year with a competition between Anthony Richardson and Daniel Jones, Lions fans. Do you want Anthony Richardson who can't read a defense? Do you want Daniel Jones who can't read a defense? Both those guys got rockets for arms. They can run. They can both run.

You want either one of those guys instead? Would you rather have a quarterback competition just because it's more spicy and fun? Or would you rather have a guy in your quarterback, Jared Goff, who just came off a Pro Bowl season and was a top five MVP finalist? He was at the awards, NFL awards, up for MVP. We knew he wasn't winning it. Josh Allen won it. But when you sit and complain about golf or when you're talking to your buddies after a few pops about what the Hendon Hooker era would look like,

Take a step back and listen to what I just said about some of these other teams and what they're going through. Think about how Dallas still believes Dak Prescott's going to take them over the hump at $60 million a year. How many more playoff games has Jared Goff won over the last handful of years than Dak Prescott? You know, so why do you think Tampa Bay has had success the last couple of years? Because Baker Mayfield has come to life and played good football, very good football.

So I'm just saying, be happy with what you have. I think Jared Goff is very good and not going anywhere. And you see some of these other situations. I mean, my poor mother, who's a Browns fan, calling me, wanting my opinion on Russell Wilson or Kirk Cousins, bringing Joe Flacco back or Jameis Winston back, or they got Kenny Pickett. Like these options are all awful, awful. All right, we got a call today. We'll do that coming up next right here on Locked on Lines.

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All right, folks, we love hearing from our audience and our fans that are out there, the checkout locked on lines. Appreciate all of you seriously, uh, so much, but you can chime in and we have a call of the day today. The chimed in at speakpipe.com slash dairy podcast page. Jason is checking in. He is our call of the day today. Let's listen to what Jason has to say. And then we will comment. Hey, Matt, Jason from Royal Oak. Um,

So the big pieces seem to have kind of fallen into place with free agency. We lost Zeitler. We lost Carlton Davis. Those are the two guys everyone has been saying, like, these are the guys we need to bring back. These are the guys we need to focus on. And, of course, we lose both of them. You know, DJ Reed sounds like a serviceable replacement for Carlton Davis. Zeitler, though, it's like, you know, we have –

Mahogany, who was willing to kind of step up in that role when there was an injury. But now it just feels like there is no net. We're playing without a net. Mahogany better be ready for primetime. Glasgow better return to form. And if one of them gets injured...

I don't know. Are we going to draft someone who's ready to start? I'm really starting to feel a little anxiety around particularly our offensive line. Just Jared Goff, who he is, he really succeeds when he isn't pressured. And I don't know where we kind of go from here, but it feels like we ended free agency. I know it's still going, but slightly worse. What do you think?

All right. Thank you, Jason, from Royal Oak. Kind of echoing the sentiments that I had brought you earlier in this podcast. So there's fans. There's another fan right there in Jason. Kind of thinking like I'm thinking that maybe, just maybe, this team has regressed a little bit via the roster and just the attrition with free agency. And I get it. There are fans that are going, well, what are we doing? I'm not panicking at all. I have a complete faith in this front office and this coaching staff.

that they're going to be all right, right? They might not go 15 and two next year. If you looked at the road schedule, all right, it's, it's brutal. It's rough, but the goal is not to go 15 and two every year and get the one seed. No, the goal is to go to the Superbowl. And if the lions don't win the division, but make the plows as a wild card and have to go on the road to start or whatever it is, I still think this team can do it. The coaching staff losing Ben Johnson, losing Aaron Glenn. That's hard, right? You can replenish, you move forward.

And you continue, though, to build with what you have with your young pieces. And I think if the Lions felt like free agency was going to be the end-all, be-all, and that they had to overspend on some guys and get crazy and do what the Bears did and maybe do what the Vikings did, then they would not be able to retain some of their key guys moving forward. Kirby Joseph is up after this year. Aiden Hutchinson's going to want a new deal after this year. So is Jameson Williams. You've got guys you've got to retain.

I do agree with Jason, though. I'm concerned about the offensive line. I do believe that either at 28 or at 60, first round, second round, the commissioner or whomever will be calling the name of an offensive lineman. Brad Holmes knows how to build. What did Thornton Mellon once say in the movie Back to School? Why build? You build from the interior. Getting Levi Onzerike back was huge. It was a great move.

Five and a half million dollars for a guy that had his best season this past year? I'll take that. It's another one-year kind of prove-it deal. But I could definitely see a scenario where an offensive lineman is taken at either 28 or 60 by Brad Holmes. Now, Holmes has said it. We'll take the best player available that's on our board, no matter what the position is. All right? And there are still some Lions free agents.

that are out there that the team can bring back that would make me feel better about where we're at. Tim Patrick is one I want the Lions to bring back. Al-Kadim Mohamed, the edge rusher, right? Nothing special, but he's a good enough player. I'd love to see the Lions bring him back. Khalil Dorsey, getting better at cornerback, getting opportunities. Got hurt, of course, at the end of last season. I would like to see the Lions bring him back too. So we'll have to wait and see.

All right, this has been a Thursday edition of Locked on Lions. If you missed yesterday, John Buchko, host of Locked on Jets, gave us some great insight on DJ Reed and just why it sounded like the Jets had no chance of re-signing him because he made it pretty clear he wanted to go to a winner. So check that out from yesterday's show right here on Locked on Lions. Thanks, everybody, for making us your first listen and checking us out wherever you get your podcasts.