Lions general manager Brad Holmes and assistant general manager Ray Agnew spoke to the media Thursday after Detroit whittled down their roster to an initial 50 (now 52) players and formed an initial 15-man practice squad earlier this week.
Now the focus shifts to the Green Bay Packers on Sept. 7 and Week 1 of the regular season.
Here are my 10 biggest takeaways from Holmes and Agnew:
1. Why 50 and not 53 on the initial roster Tuesday before the waiver wire opened Wednesday morning?
For Holmes and Agnew, it was simple. There were 50 players who earned the right to make the roster out of training camp, not 53.
"We don't say, 'Well, who are the first three out? Let's put them on the team," Holmes said. "They didn't really but.' That's not how it works around here."
Leaving three open spots gave Holmes the flexibility to sign veteran safety Daniel Thomas and claim defensive lineman Tyler Lacy and edge rusher Tyrus Wheat off waivers, who he felt could help them more immediately.
2. Holmes was asked if there were any young players who stood out to him throughout the course of the offseason and training camp.
He mentioned five players: Second-year cornerback Terrion Arnold, second-year cornerback Ennis Rakestraw Jr. (before he was injured), fourth-year wide receiver Jameson Williams, second-year guard Christian Mahogany, and third-year MIKE linebacker Jack Campbell.
3. The Lions had more than just Jacksonville reach out about a trade for veteran wide receiver Tim Patrick, who Detroit ultimately sent to the Jaguars for a sixth-round pick in next year's NFL Draft.
The move now opens an opportunity for rookie wide receiver Isaac TeSlaa to have a bigger role to begin the season. TeSlaa had a strong camp and preseason.
"But I think you've got to still keep in perspective TeSlaa's a rookie, young player," Holmes said. "He's had a good training camp, a good preseason, but we'll just see how it goes. But yeah, obviously from an opportunity standpoint, it opens up a little bit more for him."
4. Don't be surprised if we see rookie edge rusher Ahmed Hassanein back in a Detroit Lions uniform before the end of the season. Hassanein was injured in the preseason and was waived with an injury settlement on Tuesday. He cleared waivers and is a free agent, but it sounds like the two parties are set on a reunion when the injury settlement timeframe is complete.
"After you do the injury settlement in terms of the length of the settlement with the weeks you have to tack on, additional three weeks you have to wait until we can bring him back," Holmes explained.
"There's a good chance that he might get healthy before then, within those weeks. But, bottom line, he's going to be a Detroit Lion, he's going to be back on the football field playing this year."
5. The Lions still view second-round pick Tate Ratledge as the franchise's center of the future even though he's beginning his career at right guard. Simply put, center was the more natural position for veteran Graham Glasgow, and it gives Ratledge the opportunity to play guard and adjust to the NFL without all the protections and other mental hurdles on his plate. Don't forget Frank Ragnow played over 1,000 snaps at guard as a rookie in 2018.
Ratledge looked good in camp, especially in the joint practices with Miami and Houston. The team has a lot of confidence in him to start the season.
Staying on the rookie theme. Agnew, who played 10 years in the NFL along the defensive line, likes the development of rookie first-round pick Tyleik Williams.
"I think his pass rush ability is underrated, in my opinion," Agnew said. "He can push the pocket with power, but I think the guy also has some quickness to him too. And he's learning, man, you're going against NFL offensive linemen rather than college offensive linemen, but I think he has a chance to be a good pass rusher."
6. Holmes said he has not had any talks recently with veteran edge rusher Za'Darius Smith, who the team traded for at the trade deadline last year and who remains a free agent after Detroit released him in March.
7. Head coach Dan Campbell wasn't shy recently in stating that this was the best roster he's had since taking over in 2021. It was a sentiment shared by both Holmes and Agnew on Thursday.
Agnew knows what a Super Bowl winning roster looks like and said the similarities between the 1999 Rams team he won with and this 2025 Lions team are the number of playmakers they had at all levels of the offense, defense, and special teams.
8. The Lions cut ties with a couple former third-round picks in quarterback Hendon Hooker and defensive lineman Brodric Martin. Hooker signed with Carolina's practice squad and Martin is on the Chiefs' practice squad.
Holmes said he and his front office put the work in watching the film and gathering all the information on prospects and felt good about both players. In the end, Holmes said he respects the unknown part of the draft, and he hopes both players find success in Carolina and Kansas City.
"I'm a big self-assessment individual, after action review, look at it, analyze it," Holmes said. "I think we've already identified some areas already. But yeah, you've just got to learn, you've just got to grow and get better."
Those are a couple misses for Holmes, but he certainly has more hits than misses running Detroit's draft since 2021.
9. Detroit's offensive line has been one of the best in the NFL the last couple years and the expectation doesn't change for Holmes or Agnew even with three new starters along the interior.
The expectation from the front office is for the offensive line to hit the ground running while at the same time seeing the young players like Ratledge and Mahogany continue to grow along the way. Holmes really seemed excited about the potential for Ratledge and Mahogany.
10. Holmes confirmed Thursday the team and veteran edge rusher Aidan Hutchinson have begun discussions on a potential contract extension.
"Nothing's changed from our end in terms of the importance of getting something done," Holmes said. "We have had dialogue that has started, so we'll just kind of see where it goes. In terms of the level of importance, that has not changed. It is very important."
