Less than a week into 2025 training camp, the Detroit Lions are not rushing to add another veteran defensive end to their roster, but they are at least having conversations about potentially bringing in a four-time Pro Bowl talent.
According to The Detroit Free Press’ Dave Birkett, the Lions have had discussions about signing former New England Patriots and Atlanta Falcons pass rusher Matthew Judon, who remains a free agent as he prepares for the start of his 10th NFL season in 2025.
“The Lions have had dialogue about signing four-time Pro Bowler Matthew Judon, a free agent West Bloomfield High and Grand Valley State product who had 5½ sacks for the Atlanta Falcons last season,” Birkett wrote Friday.
Matthew Judon Has Started Nearly 100 Career Games
Judon is no longer the same pass rusher who made four consecutive Pro Bowl rosters for the Patriots from 2019 to 2022, but the Lions may still like the experience he would bring to their defense as they search for a partner to pair with star Aidan Hutchinson.
Judon has played in 131 career games and made 97 starts, which would make him above and beyond the most experienced edge rusher on the Lions’ roster. He has also never had a season with fewer than four sacks, hitting a career-high of 15.5 sacks in 2022.
The biggest question for the Lions would be price. Judon can add a valuable rotational pass rusher to their defense, but they are unlikely to sign him for big money after he generated just 5.5 sacks and 25 pressures as a 15-game starter for the Falcons in 2024.
Dan Campbell: Lions Focused on ‘Guys We Got Here’
The thought that the Lions could add another veteran pass rusher has persisted through the 2025 offseason, but head coach Dan Campbell does not seem interested in rushing into anything with the team focused on evaluating their current pass rushers first.
“Just worried about evaluating the guys we got here right now,” Campbell said Friday. “We’ve got a good crop of guys in here, young players. We’re about to go see what we can pull out of them, see what we can develop, see what comes from it and we’ll take it from there.”
That’s certainly a good policy with what the Lions currently have on their camp roster.
Through the first several practices, veteran Marcus Davenport has looked dominant on the field now that he is finally healthy again. He played in just two games for the Lions in 2024 after an elbow injury ended his season in Week 3, but the team re-upped on his contract for $2.5 million this offseason and is hopeful he can make an impact in 2025.
Sixth-round rookie Ahmed Hassanein has also gotten off to a strong start in camp, even though he has much more to prove in the weeks ahead to earn a spot in the rotation.
Josh Paschal, Al-Quadin Muhammad Dealing With Injuries
Unfortunately for the Lions, injuries have also been a slight problem at edge rusher.
Josh Paschal, a 2022 second-round pick, is on the active/non-football injury list to begin camp and is expected to remain out until near the start of the regular season, according to Birkett. Paschal has tallied five sacks and 12 tackles for loss over his first three seasons with the Lions, starting in exactly half of his 36 career appearances.
Meanwhile, the Lions have limited veteran Al-Quadin Muhammad through the first week of camp as he works back from an undisclosed injury. The 30-year-old is on the roster bubble, but he will have a chance to earn a rotational role with Paschal out.
For now, the Lions seem content to wait things out and see how their available edge rushers perform in camp, but a free-agent signing remains a possibility for them.
