๐๐จ๐ฆ๐ง ๐๐ก: ๐๐ฒ๐ป ๐๐ผ๐ต๐ป๐๐ผ๐ป ๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ถ๐ด๐ต๐น๐ ๐ฅ๐ฒ๐๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฐ๐๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ข๐ณ๐ณ๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ถ๐๐ฒ ๐๐ผ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ฑ๐ถ๐ป๐ฎ๐๐ผ๐ฟ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐ฒ๐๐ฟ๐ผ๐ถ๐ ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป๐ ๐ ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ฒ ๐ฎ ๐ฆ๐ถ๐ด๐ป๐ถ๐ณ๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ป๐ ๐๐ฒ๐ฐ๐ถ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐ง๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐๐ฎ๐ ๐ฆ๐ฒ๐ป๐ ๐ฆ๐ต๐ผ๐ฐ๐ธ๐๐ฎ๐๐ฒ๐ ๐ง๐ต๐ฟ๐ผ๐๐ด๐ต ๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐ก๐๐ ๐๐ผ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ต๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ๐๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฝ๐ฒโฆโฆ
In an offseason that has seen quarterbacks and linemen switching jerseys nearly every other day, the Detroit Lions have been one of the few teams seemingly standing still. Apart from the Carlton Davis loss and D.J. Reed addition, the Lions have not made a major splash.
Brad Holmes was recently interviewed on the Tim Twentyman-hosted โTwentyman in the Huddleโ podcast, during which he discussed the Lionsโ offseason moves. The key words for the teamโs movements were quite clear: patience and discipline.
Holmes and the Lions have prioritizing bringing back the teamโs own free agents. This strategy was not fully intentional, though, as Holmes revealed to Twentyman.
โLike I was saying, we didnโt come in with the idea of letโs just bring our guys back, but when you start stacking our guys versus the rest of the league, it just kind of made sense,โ the fifth-year general manager expressed.
One of the main reasons cited for this was knowing that a playerโs character fit the culture of the Lions.
โWe really did (feel good about the roster last year),โ Holmes said. โWhen we say we know a guy, we mean what kind of guy they are in the locker room, you know what kind of teammate they are, what their reliability factor is. You know how they are when adversity comes and how they are going to respond to adversity. You know what their work ethic is, all those components come into โI know this guy.โโ
This was the deciding factor for Holmes with the majority of the re-signings over fresh faces.
In regard to a player being a culture fit, Holmes expressed, โYou might not always have those details on those external guys, but hope that you can find out enough, through when they came out of college or there might be a coach that might be on staff that might have been with that player. You try to get as much as you can, but I always say about a playerโs football character, (it) often shows on film.โ
A playerโs football character showing on film was the reason that Reed and Grant Stuard are now in Honolulu Blue, per Holmes. He said, โThat would be the case with a D.J. Reed, you know, his intangibles speak on tape. A (Grant) Stuard, from Indy, his intangibles speak on tape. Thatโs what makes you feel really good about it.โ
