While head coach Dan Campbell said he thinks the Detroit Lions' "Super Bowl window" is "absolutely open" after last season's playoff loss to the Washington Commanders, general manager Brad Holmes remained steadfast in denying that any such window even exists.
"I think that we’ve done a good job of doing our best we can to avoid windows,” Holmes said back in January. “And I understand that contracts come up when contracts come up and stuff happens, but we feel so good about our young core and young nucleus of players.... So, I just think that all of the pieces are in place that I don’t really feel walls closing in or a window and again, we kind of make an effort to avoid those kinds of things."
Holmes can avoid the idea of the Lions being in any sort of "window" to win a Super Bowl all he wants. But the looming contract extension decisions he is using as a crutch to sit on his hands in terms of notable moves this offseason, or as a reason someone was released, means the time to win as the roster is currently constructed is now. The playoff losses of the last two years have naturally narrowed that window to win a Super Bowl with the core of the current roster fully intact.
PFF confirms what Lions GM Brad Holmes won't even acknowledge exists
Zoltán Buday of Pro Football Focus ranked the NFL teams with the biggest Super Bowl windows ahead of the 2025 NFL Draft, 1-10. The Lions came in at No. 5, between the Baltimore Ravens (No. 4) and the Houston Texans (No. 6).
"Losing coordinators Aaron Glenn and Ben Johnson is concerning for Detroit, but the team still has a lot of young talent, which should help it compete for championships in the upcoming years. Quarterback Jared Goff, who will turn 31 during the 2025 season, is the second-oldest projected starter on offense, highlighting his young supporting cast. Wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown, tight end Sam LaPorta and running back Jahmyr Gibbs are not only young, but they also all ranked among the 10 highest-graded players at their positions in 2024."
"On the other side of the ball, the Lions have arguably the best safety tandem in the league in Kerby Joseph and Brian Branch — both of whom are 24 years old or younger. And, of course, there is 24-year-old edge defender Aidan Hutchinson, who was on track to win Defensive Player of the Year in 2024 before suffering a season-ending injury."
Holmes is doing his best to avoid "windows" with a calculated build of the roster, but the reality is the Lions are in a Super Bowl window and it should not be shrugged off as hyperbole or a buzz phrase. Plenty of other franchises have thought that kind of window would be open for awhile, and they were wrong.
Avoiding the entire concept, as Holmes wants to, doesn't make the idea of being in a Super Bowl window go away. Buday has further confirmed what is widely obvious by placing the Lions on his list, and a middle of the pack ranking is evidence that said window is slowly narrowing for them.
