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The 2022 season may set up a real corner turn for the Detroit Lions in 2023, and on that note these five players should be entering their final season with the team.
In some ways, the Detroit Lions’ 3-13-1 record in 2021 was a misrepresentation of how truly bad they were. They lost three games on a final play field goal, with five other losses by 10 points or less and a tie.
If Tim Boyle had played even marginally better in place of Jared Goff in two of his three starts, a three-point loss to Cleveland and a four-point loss to Atlanta could have easily been wins for Detroit.
Realistic progress for the Lions in 2022 will look like 6-8 wins, and maybe remaining on the fringes of playoff contention for a while. Anything more than that will be a bonus, perhaps tilted by some good fortune.
Looking beyond next season, the 2023 season looks to be when there can be a level of expectations for the Lions. General manager Brad Holmes and head coach Dan Campbell will be heading into a third offseason building a roster in their ideal image, and any excuses trailing back to the mistakes of the previous regime will be fewer, if not outright eliminated.
On the note of having a more ideal roster moving forward, these five players should be heading into their last season in a Lions’ uniform in 2022.