The Detroit Lions have enjoyed a solid few seasons, but this upcoming season will really be an important year for the team. This will be Dan Campbell’s first season without offensive coordinator Ben Johnson and defense coordinator Aaron Glenn, so everyone will be looking at the Lions to see if Campbell can still pull off wins with a new staff.
Heading into the 2025 season, there’s one position that the Lions still need to fill if they want to be serious contenders. It was a bit of a head-scratcher that they didn’t fill it during the draft, but nobody knows what happens behind closed doors, and Brad Holmes has implied that the Lions wanted to do some trades during the draft that didn’t come through, so that’s a possibility.
But, lucky for the Lions, they have a great option left for this one position.
Detroit Lions Need This Guy
John Breech of CBS Sports has a May 29 feature out discussing four possible landing spots for Von Miller, who was released by the Buffalo Bills during the offseason. He names the Lions, Philadelphia Eagles, Washington Commanders and Houston Texans as those four teams.
“If you take one look at the Lions’ schedule, you’ll see why adding Miller might help,” Breech explains of the pick. “During the 2025 season, Detroit will be facing Patrick Mahomes, Joe Burrow, Lamar Jackson, Jordan Love, Jalen Hurts, Matthew Stafford and Dak Prescott.”
He added, “If you’re facing a gauntlet like that, you need pass rushers. The Lions do have Aidan Hutchinson, but they don’t have much outside of that. Last season, the Lions pass rush absolutely disappeared after Hutchinson suffered a season-ending injury that saw him break his tibia and fibula.”
The 36-year-old free agent said Wednesday, May 28, that he won’t retire in 2025 and plans to play the full season. The question, of course, is where will he play?
“I’m a locker-room guy through and through, and I can still roll out of the bed and rush the passer,” Miller said, via the Associated Press. “That’s what I got.”
Brad Berreman of SideLion Report agrees that Miller could be a good fit with the Lions. He calls him the Lions’ pass-rush savior in a May 30 feature.
“The Lions should have interest in Miller, as there has been some case for all offseason,” Berreman said. “Now that he has confirmed his intent to play this season, it’s worth wondering if they’ll show any interest or sit and watch as one of their NFC rivals possibly signs him.”
Where Von Miller Won’t End Up
It appears Miller won’t be with the Broncos. When asked, he said via video from Parker Gabriel of The Denver Post, “But, I mean, really, if you look at it, this year, it really doesn’t make sense.”
He added, “They’ve got two really, really good rushers that are best in the league [caliber]. With Jonathon Cooper and Nik Bonitto, they are incredible rushers — and the guys underneath them, they come in and produce sacks, too. And they play special teams. I’m not playing special teams.”
