Despite evidence a notable move needs to be made for an edge rusher this offseason, the Detroit Lions added Marcus Davenport, released Za'Darius Smith and used a Day 3 draft pick (Ahmed Hassanein) on the position.
When asked by Jim Costa of 97.1 The Ticket about the Lions' edge rusher situation, and the concern fans and media have about it beyond Aidan Hutchinson, general manager Brad Holmes took things in a direction he did not need to.
"I have felt like, ever since we have acquired Aidan Hutchinson, as great of a player he is, I have always felt like the fan base is almost mad", Holmes said. "Like, they’re mad because we have Aidan Hutchinson. Because, now, he’s so good, well why don’t you have two of them?"
Holmes missed the point of Costa's question. Davenport has not been able to stay healthy throughout his career, and when he was last healthy for more than four games in a season he had all of a half-sack in 15 games for the New Orleans Saints in 2022. Hassanein might become an excellent player, but he's a Day 3 pick who has to prove it.
It's not wrong for fans and the media to wonder why a more notable investment in an edge rusher has not been made, and no one is asking for Hutchinson 2.0. Holmes taking the "how dare you question us/me?' approach changes nothing on that front, and if anything it will ramp up the questions if the pass rush other than Hutchinson lacks production again next season.
Grade the trade proposal: Lions finally make move to add a viable edge rusher
There is a possibility the Lions bring Smith back, but the ball appears to be in his court and he is surely surveying all his options after the draft. So if the internal ship has not sailed on adding an edge rusher, even though Holmes seems to indicate it has, other options will have to be explored.
Among eight trade ideas after the 2025 NFL Draft, Mitch Milani of Bleacher Report proposed a deal where the Lions get edge rusher Jadeveon Clowney from the Carolina Panthers. According ESPN's David Newton, the Panthers had discussions about trading the former No. 1 overall pick before the start of the draft.
The Panthers then added two edge rushers (what a novel concept) in the draft--Nic Scourton and Princely Umanmielen. So Clowney is absolutely available, and the Panthers have less leverage than they did before the draft. A Day 3 draft pick looks to be what they can get for him.
Milani's trade proposal for the Lions to land Clowney looks like this.
Clowney had 5.5 sacks over 14 games for the Panthers last year, with top-35 marks among qualifying edge rushers from Pro Football Focus in pressures (44), pass rush win rate (14.9 percent) and pass rush grade (73.2). He's on an summer time yard watering odd-even cycle of good seasons, with nine sacks in 2021 and 9.5 sacks in 2023, with two sacks in 2022 and last year's 5.5.
This is where we note that 2025 is an odd-numbered year, and a contract year for Clowney.
Clowney has never come close to living up to the hype he came into the NFL with as the No. 1 overall pick in the 2014 NFL Draft. But he is a solid all-around edge player, and he would surely benefit from being on a better defensive line than Carolina's. If the Lions have not already inquired about trading for him, they should in short order and be more than ready to give up a sixth-round pick.
