Lions Pressured to ‘Immediately’ Cut Ties With $7.7 Million Player

It’s that quiet time during the offseason when teams are still making moves, but things won’t really heat up until later in the season. The Detroit Lions, as with all the NFL teams, are finalizing their lineups, and that means adding, and deleting, some players.

The Lions are in a good place, because they’re bringing back some solid players from last season, but they’re also dealing with some big lineup changes on the coaching staff. The Lions, of course, will be without offensive coordinator Ben Johnson and defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn this season, so everyone will be watching the Motor City to see how Dan Campbell does with his new team of staffers.

Now, the Lions are being told to release a once-promising second-round draft pick who perhaps just isn’t panning out.

A Player the Detroit Lions Could Trade Away

On the subject of the Lions’ newest season, Efstathios Savvidis of Detroit Jock City states in a June 27 feature, “It’ll be tough to repeat the regular season success of last year due to the numerous departures from the coaching staff, but with their talented core remaining and Dan Campbell still at the helm, the Lions should be in good shape.”

GettyDetroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell on the field.

 

Savvidis has an idea of a Lions player who he doesn’t believe the team needs right now. That’s Josh Paschal, who he says the Lions should trade “immediately.”

The Lions selected Paschal in the second round of the 2022 draft, and during his time with the team, he’s clocked five sacks, 12 tackles for loss and 15 quarterback hits. During the 2024 season, he started in 10 games, but Paschal points out that he “only posted 2 sacks, five tackles for loss, and eight quarterback hits.” Also, “PFF gave Paschal a 54.5 overall grade, which ranks him 154th out of 211 eligible edge rushers, and gave him a 48 pass rush grade.”

Lions Player ‘Wasn’t Able to Make an Impact’

Even when the Detroit defense went down in 2024, Savvidis says that “Paschal wasn’t able to make an impact.” So, his case is that Savvidis just hasn’t blossomed into the reliable edge that Detroit needs in that position. “Although Paschal has been solid in the run game, receiving a 62.5 run defense grade, he hasn’t evolved into a quality starting edge player that the Lions hoped he’d be,” Savvidis added.

“Both parties could benefit from a trade as the Lions need to bolster their secondary, which ranked 30th in passing yards per game (244), while Paschal could become a better player in a different system that offers him more playing time. Unfortunately, it’s come to this point, but the Lions need to capitalize on Paschal before he walks, and they get nothing in return.”

Trading Paschal isn’t a bad idea, and it makes sense that if he isn’t developing here, it’s time to trade him now while he still has some trade juice left. But, Detroit needs as many players to rely on in the defensive end position as possible. Plus, there’s a chance that Paschal will do better under a new coaching staff, so it could also be worth it to let him stay a bit longer and see where 2025 takes him.