Detroit Lions must make big NFL move while their window of opportunity is wide open

Detroit Free Press

BURROWHEAD, Mo. — OK, I’m not actually in Missouri. But I am firmly and figuratively situated in the mind space that belongs to the Cincinnati Bengals’ quarterback.

So that’s where I thought I’d start this column, because, frankly, I can’t stop thinking about what Joe Burrow said after the Bengals beat the Baltimore Ravens in the wild-card round of the NFL playoffs.

“The window’s my whole career,” he said.

Burrow was talking about the Bengals’ window of opportunity for winning a Super Bowl. I love the brashness aside and Burrow is right — to an extent. He’s the most important piece on his team. But soon, his extremely affordable rookie contract will end. So will receiver Ja’Marr Chase’s.

When the Bengals have to shell out big bucks for Burrow and Chase, and suddenly can’t afford complementary pieces, their window will look significantly smaller.

That jibes with something I’ve come to strongly believe about life after a half-century of lived experience: Everything takes longer than you think it will, and you never have as much time as you think you do.

And that made me think about the Detroit Lions and their window of opportunity. They’re an ascending team that should be the overwhelming favorite to win the NFC North next season. At this point, more people would be surprised if the Lions fail to win big next season than if they fall flat on their faces.

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I would love to borrow on Burrow’s line and tell you the Lions’ window is coach Dan Campbell’s whole career, but that’s not true. Campbell will always give them hope, but the real reason the window will be open next season is because the Lions dodged a major bullet and kept Ben Johnson, their transcendent offensive coordinator.

Yet, general manager Brad Holmes, at his season-ending news conference, downplayed the idea about the Lions’ window.

“I don’t even know when that window comes,” he said. “I don’t even know when that ‘one player away’ window comes, and if it does come, it doesn’t matter because I’m going to still keep trying to get players.”

Well, I have news for Holmes and the entire Lions organization: Their window this upcoming season is as open as most opposing receivers were against their awful secondary. The Lions must seize on their opportunity to climb through that window before it shuts, because, you never have as much as you think you do. And it’s time for the Lions to win and win big in 2023.

So what does all this mean? The Lions need to take a leap of faith and think big this offseason. They need to take big swings in the NFL draft in April. And before that, they need to be aggressive and spend big on free agency in March.

Holmes has been willing to move up in the draft to go after a player he believes in, like receiver Jameson Williams, despite serious injury concerns.

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But he hasn’t been as bold in free agency and hasn’t signed any top-of-the-market players. That has to change this year, because the Lions’ NFL-worst defense needs more help than an incoming rookie class can provide. Even if Holmes pulled of a big trade and moved up from the sixth overall spot to draft Georgia defensive tackle Jalen Carter, that wouldn’t be enough.

If you watched any Lions games carefully this season, you know why. The secondary, and specifically the cornerback play, was atrocious. It was so bad it got a coach fired midseason, and almost scuttled the Lions’ season.

That cannot happen again.

The best way to make sure of that is to go after the best cornerback in free agency. Maybe that’s James Bradberry, who has 13 interceptions over his past four seasons. He was a Pro Bowler two years ago with the Giants and a second-team All-Pro this year, now headed to the Super Bowl with the Eagles.

Maybe it’s Cam Sutton, a versatile corner the past six seasons in Pittsburgh who can play outside and in the slot and had three interceptions this season.

Or Patrick Peterson. Yeah, he turns 33 in July, but he had five picks and an 80.7 grade from Pro Football Focus this season, the second-highest mark in his career. And let’s not forget he spent most of his career in the NFC West with Arizona, where Holmes watched him compete against the Rams.

I’m not against the Lions drafting a cornerback, even in the first round. But typically there’s a steep learning curve for the position. The Lions have to lock up as much of a sure thing at cornerback as they can.

The Lions are a hot mess at corner. Are they going to place hope on Jeff Okudah for another season? Will Harris, a converted safety, was probably their best corner, which tells you a lot.

Holmes said he wants to be smart and strategic in free agency when debating a high-priced player, and there’s merit to that.

“It’s got to be the right fit and it’s got to be the right guy,” he said, “and if it’s not the right guy, then it doesn’t matter what the outside world thinks.”

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It’s great to have your convictions and it’s mostly a good thing Holmes isn’t concerned about the football world outside of team headquarters.

But it’s also important to understand where you are, how close you are to reaching your goal and what the size of the window is. If you lack that understanding, it’s very easy to find yourself on the outside looking in through that closed window, and wondering if a place called Burrowhead even exists.

Contact Carlos Monarrez: cmonarrez@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @cmonarrez.

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