The Detroit Lions have been identified as one of the most likely landing spots for Cleveland Browns pass rusher Myles Garrett, who requested permission from the team to seek a trade and is expected to garner significant interest.
But Lions general manager Brad Holmes warned that landing the former NFL Defensive Player of the Year won’t be easy — and may not be part of the team’s gameplan, anyway.
Speaking to reporters at the NFL scouting combine this week, Holmes said the team wants to find an edge rushing counterpart to star Aidan Hutchinson but knows it would come at a high cost to add another star, with teams likely not be willing to help the Lions add the final piece to their Super Bowl puzzle.
Brad Holmes Wants More Pass Rush Help
The Lions struggled this season after Hutchinson suffered a season-ending leg fracture in October. No other player was able to top the 7.5 sacks that Hutchinson had up to that point in the season, and Holmes said he is keenly aware that the team needs another impact player off the edge.
But Holmes hinted that no single addition will fill the gap, saying the team needed to continue building depth at the position.
“We’re not just looking for one high-end rusher,” Holmes said, via SI.com. “We have a high-end rusher now, do we want to have another one? Yes, we’d like to have three or four high-end rushers. That’s just not always the reality of what you’re able to do. So, it’s definitely not being ignored. I want to say all the conversations that I have throughout the year when we’re bouncing off each other, what you need or what we need to improve our roster. I can’t remember a time where pass-rusher has ever been omitted. It’s not gonna be ignored.”
While Holmes did not mention Garrett specifically, SI.com’s John Maakaron said it seemed clear the Lions general manager was referring to the star edge rusher. Maakaron noted that the Browns also appear to be backing away from a deal, with Browns general manager Andrew Berry telling reporters this week that they want to keep Garrett within the organization.
Lions Continue to Build Roster
The Lions have assembled a Super Bowl contender through careful roster building, with Holmes leading a top-to-bottom rebuild on defense and assembling playmakers on offense to support quarterback Jared Goff on offense.
Holmes made it clear that the team was going to continue this approach, not giving up too much for any single player.
“I don’t know if that’s the one player away. I think I’ve been pretty clear about that part, because the one player, you want that one player on top of everything else that you have,” Holmes said. “What you’re definitely saying is that one player’s not gonna get hurt. Say that one player doesn’t get hurt, what if you have the attrition that we suffered this past season? Does that one player make as much of a difference with all the attrition that you’re out. You’ve got to look at all those different components. Pass-rush will never be ignored, it never has been. But, those guys are tough to acquire.”
