Lions Report (Special Preseason Edition)

Lions Report (Special Preseason Edition): Greetings, my fellow Gridiron Heroes. Yep, I’ve been slow on the draw putting this together but it’s here. Jordan Carney, Jim Green, and Mike Weglarz, you can calm down now.

There are lots of questions. How are the Lions going to do? Will the Packers take the division this year? Can we avoid the injury bugs that cursed us last year? It’s time to play Fact or Fiction.

The Lions offensive line is the biggest factor going into the 2026 season - Fact. And I’m fairly anxious about it. We lost two of our three most talented linemen last year in Frank Ragnow and Kevin Zeitler. And I would argue that Ragnow was the most important lineman we had. (Note that I said most important and not the most talented. That goes to Penei Sewell.) We have two young guns on the line that used to be the cornerstone for the team. How will they hold up?

Losing Ben Johnson and Aaron Glenn will have a significant impact - Fact and Fiction. I think the loss of Ben Johnson will have a bigger impact. He and Jared Goff were on the same page for the last three seasons. Johnson was a creative play caller that played to Goff’s strengths. I’m not sure that magic will be recreated with John Morton. On the defensive side, they’ve been grooming Kelvin Shepherd for the last couple of seasons to take Glenn’s place. He’ll have a healthier defense than we had last year (fingers crossed), so I think we will be OK there.

The Lions overpaid for Isaac Teslaa - Fiction. The Lions traded three third round picks to move up to draft him. Yep, that’s a significant amount. However, Jameson Williams is coming up in free agency, and I for one am not ready to give him a big contract (yet). Plus, this allowed the Lions to trade Tim Patrick to the Bucs and get a 6th round draft pick back. If you like a player, go get him. And he’s looked good so far.

Brad Holmes obstinance on not signing Za’Darius Smith will come back to haunt the Lions - Fact. I don’t understand this one. I’m fine with Holmes not going after Micah Parsons. The cost in terms of draft capital and cap space would have been too much. However, signing Smith for a modest amount of money seemed like a no brainer. And now he’s with the Eagles. Great.

The Lions schedule is a killer - Fact.

The Lions will win the NFC North again for the third division title in a row. - Fiction. Yes, I know, that won’t make some of you homers happy out there. I just don’t see it happening this year. A young offensive line, a thin defensive line, two new coordinators and a brutal schedule.

My prediction for the season overall: 10-7 and they get in as a wildcard. However, by the end of the season, I think the offensive line will gel. And if the defense stays healthy, we’re going to be a team no one wants to play.

Also, and I’m going to try and speak this into existence, the formerly mentioned Micah Parsons hasn’t played any substantial football or had prolonged practice in nearly 6 months. Can you say “soft tissue injury”? I can.