Lions News: Brad Holmes’ $769M Roster Investment Could Turn Into Costly Mistake

If you’re a Lions fan in 2025, you can tip your hat to Brad Holmes. The man has been aggressively locking up the team’s core over the last two seasons. But it makes you think, is the franchise right to commit to all these guys for that money? A glance at the cap sheet would do that to you. And that’s what the offseason’s been about: equal parts happiness and spreadsheet anxiety.

Holmes’ recent push to lock down Detroit’s young core is bold. Locking in Jared Goff, Jameson Williams, Amon-Ra, Penei Sewell, Kerby Joseph, Alim McNeill, and Taylor Decker. Locking in all this talent in so little time is brilliant. A piece of work that cost upwards of $769 million. And when you look at that number, it sets in: what if the people we banked on let us down?

And that’s a fair concern. The heaviest hitter on Detroit’s books is Jared Goff’s four-year, $212 million extension. A rather strong commitment to a QB who had an excellent season last year, if not flawless. 4,629 yards and 37 touchdowns, posting a 65.4 QBR. Of course, they backed him up.

But here’s the pickle. Goff’s deal comes loaded with guarantees ($170 million), and when a quarterback contract gets that heavy, all it takes is a dip in form or an injury to flip a championship window into a cap anchor. And let’s not forget, the man is 30. A little dip and $212 million in cap space goes out the window.

And there’s Jameson Williams, who agreed to a 3-year extension upto $83 million tonight. Great talent, who had a breakout season last year, racking up more than 1,000 receiving yards for the first time in his career. Very, very high ceiling. But that sort of money when he already had a contract until 2026? Dubious.

But he’s got a short NFL resume, and his college career did show some concerns. The ACL tear and a couple of suspensions do make his availability a cause of concern for the future. And if he doesn’t develop the way Lions want him to (pure deep threat weapon), that’s another $83 million at risk.

And of course, Amon-Ra St. Brown’s four-year, $120M extension. Now, this is a smart investment. He’s one of those pure receivers who rely on route running and toughness. Not entirely contingent on speed. And these are the kinds of WRs that stay in the game for long. You shouldn’t be waiting around for his downfall because that might take years.

But then there’s also Alim McNeill’s four-year, $97M extension. Seemed ideal, but then came the ACL in 2024. ACL is that one injury where most players don’t come back the same after. We can hope McNeill doesn’t fit in that category, but you never know. Similarly, Kerby Joseph’s position is not a ‘premium,’ so any dip? And they’re essentially overpaying.

All the planning and plotting are good until everything works fine. If any of the players suffer an injury or dip in stats, all of this is going to be futile. But why are the Lions banking so heavily on non-QB positions?

Why Holmes is loading up non-QB dollars

Well, it all comes down to Brad Holmes‘ philosophy. Holmes has made it clear he’s committed to keeping the roster’s top talent and avoiding constant rebuilds around the quarterback. He’s spoken about not “chasing needs” in the draft and instead focusing on protecting the core pieces he trusts. Yes, even if that means shelling out big money at non-QB positions.

“There’s just a level of patience you have to (have). When you start chasing need, it’s like that need might make sense for right now at this time. We make these picks for future investments. We kind of live in a society that everything is, ‘Right now! Right now! Right now!'” he said.

On the field, it adds up: Detroit built a high-powered offense that led the NFL in points per game in 2024 and finished with a franchise-record 15 wins. Keeping that unit intact gives them a shot to turn playoff heartbreak into a Super Bowl run. It created a ‘win now’ culture Holmes wants to extend.

And talking about non-QBs, we can’t not talk about Aidan Hutchinson, who is still not locked in. He very well fits in that Brad Holmes’ philosophy. But we cannot forget the facts. He fractured his tibia and fibula last season, and the Lions are taking it slow. You can’t expect them to commit to a guy who hasn’t shown what he can do after an injury like that.

And of course, the money is big. Micah Parsons and TJ Watt‘s deals wrecked the market. Hutch will reportedly eye for $50 million a year to become the highest-paid non-QB ever, and Brad Holmes has a rather complicated decision on his hands now.