Allen Park – Brad Holmes knows what comes next.
And to a certain extent, the Lions’ general manager already knows how it feels, having watched Matthew Stafford — the quarterback he traded away almost immediately after he arrived in Detroit — winning a Super Bowl with his former team, the Los Angeles Rams, back in February.
But now, after breaking off another piece of what was once part of the foundation here and handing it to a division rival — trading tight end T.J. Hockenson, a former top-10 pick who made the Pro Bowl two years ago and at 25 is just entering his prime, to Minnesota — Holmes knows he’s about to feel the heat to a different degree. Not just this week, either, in the wake of another NFL trade deadline where the Lions were sad-faced sellers. But also next month when Hockenson returns to Ford Field with the NFC North-leading Vikings.
“T.J.’s a good football player, and the next time we play him, he’ll still be a good football player,” Holmes said Wednesday, during a brief media session before practice in Allen Park. “So he’ll make a play, or make some plays, and score a touchdown or whatever he does, and, yeah, the camera will be in my face and I’ll look at it and I’ll wave and … that’s just it.”
And, really, that is it, in the bigger picture. Because for most of the last 21 months, Dan Campbell has been the face of this new Lions regime, thanks to his man-eating introductory roar and all the mind-numbing losses that have followed.
His team now
But while NFL GMs tend to operate in relative obscurity, Tuesday’s deadline decision to punt on fourth-and-forever officially puts a new face on whatever we’re calling this plan of theirs. It’s Holmes’ roster now, without question. It’s no longer someone else’s mess he’s cleaning up. And though the second-year GM still isn’t ready to offer any timetable on when the fans in this city can expect a winning football team again, the clock absolutely is ticking.
Maybe not with ownership yet, as Sheila Hamp made a rare visit to the media room last week to offer public support for both Holmes and Campbell coming out of the Lions’ bye week.
“I know this is difficult; our rebuild is hard, but we really believe in our process,” said Hamp, who signed the GM and coach to five- and six-year contracts, respectively, back in January 2021. “We really believe we’re going to turn this thing around the right way, through the draft. It requires patience. It’s frustrating. Am I frustrated? Absolutely. Are the fans frustrated? Absolutely.”
Hamp went on to call it a “huge teardown,” remaking a roster that was long on ex-Patriots but short on true playmakers when Holmes was hired. But this felt like the end of the demolition, if you will, unloading one of former GM Bob Quinn’s final first-round picks at a garage sale.
Hockenson never quite lived up to that draft billing in Detroit, hampered by injuries and inconsistent production through his 3 ½ seasons with the Lions, who clearly weren’t interested in committing a huge cap number to him moving forward. The team had picked up the fifth-year option on Hockenson’s rookie deal, putting the tight end on the books for 2023 at a fully-guaranteed $9.4 million. But the extension Hockenson will sign at some point — presumably with the Vikings now — figures to carry an inflated price tag, considering the likely comps at his position. (The Eagles’ Dallas Goedert is making $14.25 million per year, while Cleveland recently locked up David Njoku for $13.7 million annually.)
“There’s a lot of variables and factors that go into these decisions,” Holmes acknowledged. “I’m not gonna say that was not one of them that was looked at. That was one of many that was looked at, but it wasn’t solely focused on that.”
Fans probably will focus on something else Holmes said Wednesday, when he suggested this is a move he might’ve made even if the Lions were 6-1 instead of 1-6 right now. But whether you believe that or not — I’m not sure how anyone could — it’s really beside the point, because the records are what they are and the Lions’ isn’t good.
Understandable move
And, frankly, that’s why this move made sense. It’s a tough sell in the locker room, obviously, but Campbell did what he could do in that regard Wednesday, stressing the opportunity it’ll provide others in the passing game. (“There’s more food on the table now for our other skill players,” he said.)
Trading Hockenson within the division probably rubs some the wrong way as well. But Holmes called that an “archaic” way of thinking about these deals, and I can’t really argue with him there. The Vikings winning today shouldn’t matter much to the Lions if they’re focused on winning tomorrow. And when Minnesota is paying Hockenson big money in 2024, the Lions should be starting a second-round pick somewhere on a rookie deal and spending the savings on another veteran, preferably on defense.
At the very least, it’s better than what the Lions did four years ago, when Quinn was unable to find a trade partner for Eric Ebron — another inherited top-10 pick at tight end, and maybe the Lions should stop doing that? — and simply released him. Holmes got something in return here, adding a second-round pick in 2023 along with a fourth-rounder in 2024, while giving up a 2023 fourth-rounder and a conditional fourth in ’24. (That pick will fall to a fifth-rounder if the Vikings win a playoff game.)
The Lions, who also own the Rams’ 2023 first-round pick from the Stafford trade, are one of four teams with two first-rounders next spring. Add in the Vikings’ second-rounder now and Holmes is flush with draft capital for a second straight year: Based on the current NFL standings, he’d have a pair of top-15 picks (including No. 1 overall) and five of the top 65 selections.
That’s good news if Holmes is looking to add premium talent to a young defense that’s currently starting four rookies but ranks last (again) in the league in yards and points allowed. It’s also imperative if he’s planning to finally draft a franchise quarterback, something the Lions haven’t done – or even tried to do – since 2008.
If this losing continues in the second half, the Lions will be well-positioned to grab one (Bryce Young?) at the top of the draft. Or they could beef up their defensive front with a player like Alabama’s Will Anderson or Georgia’s Jalen Carter and still trade up from the Rams’ first-round slot to land one of the top few quarterbacks in the 2023 class.
But that’s then, and this is now.
“I mean, it’s the regular season,” Holmes said. “So a player is being acquired, that’s exciting for the fans. Draft picks, that’s not exciting right now. I don’t think anybody gives a damn about any draft picks that we get, and I understand that.”
But he should understand this, too: He’s on the clock now.
john.niyo@detroitnews.com
Twitter: @JohnNiyo