In a June 17 feature for Bleacher Report, Kristopher Knox names every NFL Team’s to-do tally for the rest of the 2025 offseason. In the piece, he notes that the NFL has “finally reached the quiet portion of the 2025 NFL offseason. Organized team activities (OTAs) and most mandatory minicamps are over, which means many players are essentially off until the start of training camps.”
But, the powers at be will still be working to ensure that their teams have everything they need going into the new season. As Knox puts it, “coaches, general managers and other team decision-makers will simply be idle over the next month. Whether it’s addressing roster holes, executing trades, signing players to new contracts or laying camp plans, every NFL team has something to accomplish before the end of the summer.”
For the Lions, the biggest priority, he says, is getting a contract extension done with Hutchinson.
“The 24-year-old is coming off a season-ending leg fracture but has proven himself worthy of a long-term deal,” Knox states. “With the pass-rusher market skyrocketing this offseason, signing Hutchinson before other young sack artists like Micah Parsons put pen to paper would be advisable.”
He adds, “While it would be great to have a healthy Hutchinson in training camp and under contract long-term, Detroit should be looking for more at the position. The defense recorded just 37 sacks as a unit last season. Za’Darius Smith ranked second behind Hutchinson with only four.”
Lions Need Another Star Edge
That brings us to Knox’s second to-do item for the Lions: Get a pass rusher. Considering that the Lions and Smith parted ways during the offseason, the Lions are weak in this area. It certainly gets me nervous. As Knox points out, they could bring Smith back, find someone else in free agency or make a big trade for Trey Hendrickson to improve in this area.
Finally, Knox believes it’s important for Detroit to integrate the team’s new offensive and defensive coordinators.
“We’ve seen double-coordinator changes prove problematic in the past,” Knox stated. “The Philadelphia Eagles went from being in the Super Bowl to collapsing down the stretch of the regular season after losing coordinators Shane Steichen and Jonathan Gannon during the 2023 offseason.”
He adds that the Lions “may be able to maintain some continuity on both sides of the ball. New defensive coordinator Kelvin Sheppard spent the past four seasons as a Lions linebackers coach. New offensive coordinator John Morton came over from Denver but was a senior offensive assistant with the Lions in 2022.”
