Allen Park — As a new father, there are things about the offseason that Penei Sewell is excited for.
As a member of the Detroit Lions, though? Sewell wishes the offseason, which officially began for the Lions at locker-cleanout day Monday, would just be over already.
“I just can’t wait for next season, man. This season was cut too short,” Sewell said. “I feel like there’s way more on the table that we can get. We’re gonna come next year without a doubt.”
“(The Lions’ future) is as bright as the sun. I believe that with all my heart.”
Sunday night’s finale brought a bittersweet end to Detroit’s comeback season. After starting 1-6, the Lions won eight of 10 to finish above .500 and keep the bogeyman Packers out of the playoffs with a gutsy 20-16 win at Lambeau Field in primetime. The year ended with euphoria — but not a playoff position.
Still, if you’ve ever needed convincing that this team was trending in the right direction, Sewell’s comments on Monday will do that for you. There are no clichés on “hopefully rolling it over into next year” or the like — just raw feelings about the moment, which speak volumes about the future.
“I was truly apart of something special,” Sewell said about the 2022 Lions season.
“I thank Dan Campbell, Brad Holmes for bringing me here, because I truly can’t see my life anywhere else, other than the Detroit Lions. Every person that I’ve come across in this locker room, I’ve got nothing but love for ’em. I don’t know how it is in any other building, but man, I feel like everybody in this locker room is really close with each other and actually, genuinely cares.
“And that’s the thing I really love most about this team. It really makes me wanna go harder and even crazier, so that’s why I can’t wait for next year already.”
He’s not the only one that feels that way.
“I think we have a pretty special, young group. The older guys too that we have, really, I think helped out the young guys throughout the whole year,” second-year receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown said.
“The coaches that we have are special. Just everything, it feels different than it did last year, definitely. I think for us, (it’s about) just continuing to work, because that’s the kind of guys we are in this building, in this locker room. We’re hard workers. We never shy away. Just having that swagger into next year to the start of the year.”
If the Lions are to take another step forward in 2023, Sewell, 22, will be a big part of that. He was already a major piece in this year’s turnaround. After a solid rookie season, Sewell in year two evolved into one of the Lions’ heartbeats. He caught one of the biggest passes of the season and sprung free D’Andre Swift on the hook-and-ladder play Sunday night that helped the Lions finish off Green Bay — nevermind the fact he was an anchor on one of the best offensive lines in football.
At a position where great work often goes unnoticed, Sewell’s dynamic play has made him one of the faces of this Lions rebuild. He was Holmes’ first draft pick and Campbell’s first rookie. When Campbell stepped to the podium Monday and talked culture, he was talking about guys like Sewell.
“These (were) the right guys for us, particularly in 2022,” Campbell said. “… They fit the mold, and to us, you have to meet a certain type of criteria to be here. We don’t just strictly look at talent, and our guys have created that culture. They’ve embraced it, and it’s part of who we are, and it’s why we’ll always compete.”
Now, the hard part: Waiting. Like last year, the Lions have a whole bunch of young players who are looking to use this offseason as a catapult. Sewell’s jump was, by all accounts, an overwhelming success. There’s plenty of reason to believe that his growth from year two to year three will be substantial.
That is, if he can get enough sleep.
“It already started last night after the win,” Sewell said of entering full dad-mode. “I had to be up with (my son) for a little bit. That didn’t really go so well, but now I’m looking forward to it. … I can’t wait for every second I have with him, especially in the mornings. Mama said he’s the best in the morning, so I can’t wait to see that.”
nbianchi@detroitnews.com
Twitter: @nolanbianchi