The Detroit Lions’ 2025 vision carries the weight of unfinished business. Coming off a franchise-best 15-2 season, they insist they are “tired of being close,” as David Montgomery put it. Even Dan Campbell calls the season ahead “the right kind of brutal,” insisting the tough schedule will leave them “battle-tested and ready to go.” Presently, it seems that the roster is leaning on continuity, re-signing Sewell, Decker, and Glasgow, while filling gaps from Ragnow and Zeitler’s retirement. Meanwhile, Goff, fresh off an MVP-caliber year, remains the clear leader. But the pressure on him is building, as the QB line remains thin. The real question is whether Detroit, already leaning on stability and veteran depth, will roll the dice again for a strong season.

Cuts are hitting hard around the NFL, and the Lions just got what some are calling a golden opportunity. In a surprising move, the Eagles released 22-year-old rookie quarterback Kyle McCord. And, speaking in the wake of this, Sports Talk Detroit pointed out, “The Lions could carry three or… get him in to be on the practice squad if he clears waivers. But the point is this is a rookie, 22 years old did good things,” in its YouTube segment.

McCord, who impressed in training camp and even jumped ahead of DTR, struggled in preseason games and didn’t make the Eagles’ 53-man roster. But here is the twist. He is still young, and unlike Hendon Hooker, who the Lions just cut loose, McCord has time to develop. The question is, will Dan Campbell take the gamble?

This roster is deep, perhaps the deepest Campbell has ever had. He himself said this is “top to bottom the best roster he’s had since he’s been here.” In the latest move, veterans like Tom Kennedy were finally easy cuts, while special-teams Anthony Pitman was sidelined by upgrades like Zach Cunningham. But, despite all the available talent, the domain of QBs remains razor-thin. “We ride or die with Goff,” the host admits. But isn’t that the exact danger? One bad stretch, and the Lions’ season could turn into a disaster. That is why the McCord conversation is becoming more prominent by the hour.

Of course, there is no question that McCord is flawed. He completed just 24 of 56 passes for 191 yards with two picks in the preseason, including a brutal 15-for-35 outing as a starter. Still, potential is the point here. Hooker was older, “like 29 years old,” as the host said, and slow to develop. McCord is 22 and still moldable. So the real question isn’t whether he is ready now, but whether Detroit is willing to invest in a future Goff insurance plan.

And Campbell needs to be ready to face the gamble. “Sometimes does the player need a change of scenery?… those are all things you got to weigh,” he explained after releasing Hooker, as stated by Bleacher Report. He even admitted, “I wish Hooker… would have had a better outing… but you take that all into account.” So, will McCord get that change of scenery in Detroit? Or will Campbell bet the house that Goff stays upright, carrying this stacked roster alone? The Lions have their best shot in decades, but Goff’s dependency could end up haunting them instead of saving them.

The Goff question in Detroit

Jared Goff is coming off a career season, with 4,629 yards, 37 touchdowns, and a 111.8 passer rating, thus ranking him among the league’s best in 2024. However, the real question lingers if Detroit is leaning too heavily on him. Coach Dan Campbell himself hinted at the danger after a crushing 45-31 divisional round playoff loss to the Washington Commanders in January 2025.

He said, “We just didn’t support each other… Five turnovers—even if one occurred late in the game and it was technically four—is simply too many.” And when Goff accounted for four of those mistakes, including a pick-six, isn’t it fair to ask if this dependency is becoming a liability?

The issue isn’t simply limited to the turnovers; instead, it is on the thin ice behind him. The Lions carry Kyle Allen as a steady veteran, but Hendon Hooker has disappointed and may soon be gone. Campbell has been blunt, saying, “Depth, depth, depth. We’ve got to make sure that we have the depth.” Yet backup QB depth is exactly what they don’t have. If Goff goes down, does this so-called “best roster” suddenly collapse under its own weight?

And then there is the long-term vision. The Lions are tied to Goff through 2028, but they are already scouting LSU’s Garrett Nussmeier, a possible future successor. Analysts have been warning that the team is “staring down inflection [in] the franchise cycle.” The situation is precarious indeed. Even Goff admitted after the playoff loss, back in January, as he judiciously remarked, “If I perform better, do we win? Quite possibly.” That honesty is refreshing, but it also exposes the truth that without backup, things may go downhill.