8 Detroit Lions starters who could leave following 2022 season

It is not too often that we talk about our Detroit Lions and “getting lucky” in the same conversation. In fact, over the years, it sure does seem like the Lions have been the most unlucky team in the NFL. Well, according to some stats posted by NFL Football Ops Data Scientist Tom Bliss, the Lions were one of the luckiest teams in the NFL during the 2022 season that saw them finish with a 9-8 record.

Detroit Lions GM Brad Holmes and his staff are going to be extremely busy this week as they will be in Mobile, Alabama for the Reese's Senior Bowl. Each year, we pass along reports about which Senior Bowl players, who are also 2023 NFL Draft prospects, have met with the Lions, and to be honest, it can become a bit tedious. Well, we will still be passing along reports when Detroit has a special meeting with a player, but thanks to Jim Nagy, who is the Senior Bowl director, we now know Holmes and his crew will be meeting with each and every one of the 125 prospects who are in Mobile for Senior Bowl Week.

If you happened to tune in for Sunday's NFC Championship Game between the Philadelphia Eagles and San Francisco 49ers, you are likely aware of the fact that 49ers starting quarterback Brock Purdy suffered an elbow injury in the first quarter, forcing him to leave the game. Replacing Purdy in the lineup was backup QB, Josh Johnson. If that name sounds familiar, it is because he is a former backup quarterback for the Detroit Lions.

On Sunday evening, the Kansas City Chiefs will host the Cincinnati Bengals in the AFC Championship Game at Arrow Head Stadium. Earlier today, it was reported on FOX that there was a real danger that Chiefs All-Pro tight end Travis Kelce would miss today's game and that the team would need to “see him run” before deciding whether or not he will play. Just moments ago, the Chiefs released their Inactives List for the game, and Kelce is active.

On Sunday, news broke that the Dallas Cowboys and offensive coordinator Kellen Moore had mutually agreed to part ways. Now, according to a report from Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero, Moore has already landed a new gig. Just moments ago, Rapoport reported that Moore, who also spent time as a Detroit Lions quarterback, is expected to become the next offensive coordinator for the Los Angeles Chargers. Rapoport noted that Los Angeles had been working on this for a while, receiving permission to speak with Moore when it became obvious what a mutual breakup was in the works.

Wow! We have seen plenty of troll jobs over the years, but this may be the best one yet as Cincinnati mayor Aftab Pureval has not only declared January 29th as “They Gotta Play Us Day” in his city, but he has also suggested that Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow could be the father of Kansas City Chiefs quarterback, Patrick Mahomes. As you will see in the video, Pureval referred to Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City as “Burrowhead Stadium” before the two teams played on Sunday.

When the 2023 Pro Bowl rosters were released a while back, pretty much everyone agreed that Penei Sewell and Amon-Ra St. Brown of the Detroit Lions were snubbed. Well, thanks to the Philadelphia Eagles beating the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday to advance to the Super Bowl, both Sewell, and St. Brown have now been named as participants in the 2023 Pro Bowl Games.

According to a report from David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period, the Toronto Maple Leafs are among the teams interested in acquiring F Tyler Bertuzzi if he is not able to reach a contract extension with the Detroit Red Wings before the NHL trade deadline. Pagnotta noted that Bertuzzi's agent Todd Reynolds is expected to have “proper discussions” with GM Steve Yzerman in the not-too-distant future, but if a deal cannot be reached, a trade is expected.

Unfortunately, our Detroit Lions will not be playing in the upcoming Super Bowl, but that does not mean we won't get to see at least one of their players on our television during the big game. According to a tweet from @HonoluluBlues_ on Twitter, an Aidan Hutchinson Super Bowl commercial will be aired during Super Bowl LVII.

Just moments ago, news broke that the NFL has informed all teams that the 2023 salary cap has increased from the 2022 season. In fact, according to Tom Pelissero, the NFL has informed its teams that the 2023 salary cap will be a record $224.8 million per club, which is up a healthy $16.6 million from what it was in 2022. This is obviously great news for GMs around the league, as they will now have some extra cash to play around with.

According to a report from Adam Schefter of ESPN, the Green Bay Packers have decided that their preference would be to trade QB Aaron Rodgers during the upcoming offseason. Schefter noted that Rodgers is aware that the Packers want to trade him, according to the sources. Schefter also added that if the Packers officially put Rodgers on the trade block, there will be substantial interest from teams around the league.

The Conference Championship games are in the books and we now know the teams that will be playing in Super Bowl LVII. On Sunday, the Philadelphia Eagles took care of business by defeating the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC Championship Game, while the Kansas City Chiefs kicked a game-winning field goal with just three seconds remaining in the game to take down the Cincinnati Bengals. The opening Super Bowl LVII point spread has been released and the Eagles have opened as a slight favorite.

According to Detroit Lions News on Facebook, an NFL source has indicated that the Detroit Lions have submitted paperwork to make changes to their uniform for the 2023 season. “Per NFL Source, The Lions have submitted paperwork to the NFL to redo their uniforms. The prevailing thought is the Lions will be combining their current throwbacks with their current Lions logo with a modern twist on the jersey that would look similar to the Sims/Sanders years.” Amon-Ra St. Brown has now confirmed that the Lions' new uniforms are “coming soon.”

As the countdown to Super Bowl LVII continues, anticipation is building among teams and fans alike. The identities of the teams competing in the NFL's premier event have yet to be determined, but by the end of the weekend, we will know which teams will square off on Feb. 12 at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona. Can the Cincinnati Bengals make it to two straight Super Bowls? Will Kansas City Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes‘ ankle hold up? Will Brock Purdy continue to get the job done? Will the Philadelphia Eagles‘ offense be able to do enough to win against a tough San Francisco 49ers defense? We will soon have the answer to those questions.

Will Jared Goff be the Detroit Lions quarterback of the future? A couple of weeks ago, Lions' GM Brad Holmes was asked about that, and though he would come straight out and commit to Goff long-term, he pretty much said that would be the case. “I do think that Jared has proven to everybody that he is a starting quarterback for us,” Holmes told reporters. A day earlier, Goff spoke to reporters during the team's locker clean-out day and he said he had not yet been approached by the Lions' front office about a contract extension. “I've loved my time here.” He said about his time in Detroit, but added, “We'll see.” Most agree that Goff had a very good 2022 season, but, when looking into the advanced stats, he was even better than you thought.

The Detroit Lions‘ selection of Aidan Hutchinson as the No. 2 overall pick in the 2022 NFL Draft excited GM Brad Holmes, head coach Dan Campbell, and the rest of the Detroit War Room, as they had targeted him. Though some high draft picks fail to meet expectations, Hutchinson exceeded them and became one of the most productive rookies in the NFL for the 2022 season. Recently, he was named as a finalist for the Defensive Rookie of the Year award in recognition of his success.

When the Detroit Lions selected WR Jameson Williams with the No. 12 overall pick in the 2022 NFL Draft, he told anyone that would listen that he hoped to be 100% and ready to play by the time training camp started. Well, his vision and Brad Holmes and Dan Campbell‘s vision turned out to be different than Williams' as the Lions vowed they would be very patient with him until he was 100% recovered from his torn ACL. Williams eventually made his NFL debut and even played in a handful of games, but he really did not make much of an impact, other than on a couple of plays. According to Pro Football Focus, that could change in 2023.

On Sunday afternoon, the Philadelphia Eagles took care of business on their home field by defeating the San Francisco 49ers to advance to Super Bowl LVII. With the Eagles advancing to the Super Bowl, that means that the players from their team that were selected for the Pro Bowl, will not participate. This opens the door for two Detroit Lions players who were named first alternates for the Pro Bowl Games.

Christian Gonzalez – CB (Oregon) Joey Porter Jr. – CB (Penn State) Cam Smith – CB (South Carolina) Devon Witherspoon – CB (Illinois) Kelee Ringo – CB (Georgia) The Detroit Lions certainly took some major steps forward in 2022, but they still ended up falling one win short of earning a berth in the 2022 NFL Playoffs. With that being said, if Detroit is going to take another step forward in 2023, they are going to have to place a focus on improving on the defensive side of the ball. When looking at the defense, the boys in Honolulu blue and silver need help on all three levels of the defense, but, in my opinion, their main focus should be the secondary. Look for the Lions to select at least one cornerback in the 2023 NFL Draft.

Coming off a positive second season, Brad Holmes and the Detroit Lions are building something special in Detroit. With a huge chunk of the roster improving and a great culture, the Lions should be a big free-agent destination this coming offseason. However, before they bring anyone in, they will need to decide which in-house free agents they should bring back. Here is how they should prioritize their free agents this offseason.