The Detroit Lions entered the 2024 offseason with two pressing needs on defense: cornerback and edge rusher. They wasted no time addressing both, signing Marcus Davenport to bolster their pass rush alongside Aidan Hutchinson. However,

The Detroit Lions entered the 2024 offseason with two pressing needs on defense: cornerback and edge rusher. They wasted no time addressing both, signing Marcus Davenport to bolster their pass rush alongside Aidan Hutchinson. However, Davenport’s injury history raised immediate concerns about whether he was a sufficient addition to the Lions’ defensive front.

As training camp approached, doubts lingered about Detroit’s edge rusher depth. Unfortunately, those concerns proved valid. In Week 3, Davenport suffered an elbow/triceps injury after an unusual play involving Cardinals offensive tackle Paris Johnson. The result? Davenport was sidelined for the season, fulfilling the unfortunate prophecy about his durability.

The Lions’ pass-rush woes deepened when Hutchinson broke his leg in Week 6. Adding to the frustration, third-year edge rusher Josh Paschal dealt with his own injury issues. Before Hutchinson’s season-ending injury, he was on pace for an exceptional year. In fact, despite not playing since Week 6, Hutchinson remained among the league’s top 10 edge rushers in quarterback pressures through Week 13, according to Pro Football Focus. He accounted for 25% of the Lions’ sacks this season (7.5 of their 30), a testament to his dominance before the injury. No other Detroit defender has reached four sacks.

Looking back, the Lions’ biggest regret from the 2024 offseason is clear: they didn’t add more edge rusher depth. Pro Football Focus’s Bradley Locker echoed this sentiment when highlighting each NFC team’s offseason misstep.

“The Lions could never have foreseen a season-ending injury to Aidan Hutchinson,” Locker noted. “At the same time, the team’s depth at edge rusher was already thin: Detroit was banking on Marcus Davenport, who had played 500-plus snaps just once in his career, to have a resurgent year. However, he played only 89 snaps before suffering another season-ending injury.”

Locker also mentioned other potential moves the Lions could have made, such as drafting Jonah Elliss or signing proven veterans like Calais Campbell or Chase Young. Either move might have lessened the blow of losing their top pass rushers.

The Lions prioritized signing Davenport, with reports of his deal emerging late on the first day of free agency in March. But knowing his injury history, adding another edge rusher should have been a practical follow-up move. While Detroit’s defensive front delivered a strong Thanksgiving Day performance, it doesn’t erase the shortcomings from last offseason.

With edge rusher depth exposed as a weakness in 2024, it’s clear this will be a priority for the Lions heading into the 2025 offseason.

Davenport’s injury history raised immediate concerns about whether he was a sufficient addition to the Lions’ defensive front.

As training camp approached, doubts lingered about Detroit’s edge rusher depth. Unfortunately, those concerns proved valid. In Week 3, Davenport suffered an elbow/triceps injury after an unusual play involving Cardinals offensive tackle Paris Johnson. The result? Davenport was sidelined for the season, fulfilling the unfortunate prophecy about his durability.

The Lions’ pass-rush woes deepened when Hutchinson broke his leg in Week 6. Adding to the frustration, third-year edge rusher Josh Paschal dealt with his own injury issues. Before Hutchinson’s season-ending injury, he was on pace for an exceptional year. In fact, despite not playing since Week 6, Hutchinson remained among the league’s top 10 edge rushers in quarterback pressures through Week 13, according to Pro Football Focus. He accounted for 25% of the Lions’ sacks this season (7.5 of their 30), a testament to his dominance before the injury. No other Detroit defender has reached four sacks.

Looking back, the Lions’ biggest regret from the 2024 offseason is clear: they didn’t add more edge rusher depth. Pro Football Focus’s Bradley Locker echoed this sentiment when highlighting each NFC team’s offseason misstep.

“The Lions could never have foreseen a season-ending injury to Aidan Hutchinson,” Locker noted. “At the same time, the team’s depth at edge rusher was already thin: Detroit was banking on Marcus Davenport, who had played 500-plus snaps just once in his career, to have a resurgent year. However, he played only 89 snaps before suffering another season-ending injury.”

Locker also mentioned other potential moves the Lions could have made, such as drafting Jonah Elliss or signing proven veterans like Calais Campbell or Chase Young. Either move might have lessened the blow of losing their top pass rushers.

The Lions prioritized signing Davenport, with reports of his deal emerging late on the first day of free agency in March. But knowing his injury history, adding another edge rusher should have been a practical follow-up move. While Detroit’s defensive front delivered a strong Thanksgiving Day performance, it doesn’t erase the shortcomings from last offseason.

With edge rusher depth exposed as a weakness in 2024, it’s clear this will be a priority for the Lions heading into the 2025 offseason.