Detroit Lions fans outside Ford Field for Minnesota Vikings game
Detroit Lions fans are lined up outside Ford Field on Sunday, Nov. 2, 2025 eager to get inside for the game against the Minnesota Vikings.
The Detroit Lions didn’t do anything to upgrade their roster at this week’s NFL trade deadline, but that hasn’t changed how Dan Campbell feels about his team.
“I feel good,” Campbell said. “I’ll say this again, my job is to freaking get these guys ready to play on Sunday. And I’ve got the roster to do it, we’ve got depth, we got the dudes, we got weapons, we got a quarterback. I got to do my part, I got to do my job. And I got to get them ready and I got to make sure we cross all the T’s, dot the I’s and that we turn over every stone and make sure our guys are ready to roll. And we help them get ready to roll.
“So, man, I’m good. I feel great. I really do.”
Campbell said Lions general manager Brad Holmes brought a handful of possible acquistions to his attention in the 24 or so hours before Tuesday’s deadline but there was “nothing that was, I would say, enough to be noteworthy.”
The Lions (5-3) did not make a deadline trade for the first time since 2021, and are one of the few NFC title contenders that did not make a big trade in the past two months to help their team.
The Philadelphia Eagles made four trades since the start of the season, including one for defensive end Jaelan Phillips on Monday. The Los Angeles Rams acquired cornerback Roger McCreary last week. The Seattle Seahawks added receiver Rashid Shaheed on Tuesday. The San Francisco 49ers and Chicago Bears traded for pass rushers Keion White and Joe Tryon-Shoyinka, respectively. And the Green Bay Packers made a big move to acquire Micah Parsons at the start of the season.
Along with the Lions, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Carolina Panthers are the only other NFC teams with winning records that did not make a trade.
Asked if he could see Holmes going all-in on a trade like the Rams did with Matthew Stafford four years ago or the Packers did for Parsons in September, Campbell said he and Holmes are aligned in their long-term approach to team building.
“When you start talking like that, like throw all the picks away, that’s a lot,” Campbell said. “I mean, that’s a lot of capital, especially with the guys that we’ve got that we’re signing and we want to continue to sign to keep what we have intact. Now you’re not only throwing the picks, you also, you got to pay that player, too, probably, otherwise why are you throwing all the picks at a guy that you’re buying him for a year?
“And so then it really kind of, everything that we planned for, you just might as well throw it in the trash. So I don’t want to say never. There’s not a never. … But he and I both agree that this is how we proceed, man. This is how we go about our business and we have a long-term approach. But I’ll never say never.”
Campbell said the Lions’ decision to stand pat at the deadline was partly a reflection of the confidence they have in some of the backups on their current roster.
The Lions have injury issues on their offensive line, and second-year left guard Christian Mahogany is out until at least late December with a broken bone in his leg. But backup guard Kayode Awosika has made eight career starts, including one in the playoffs, Trystan Colon can play any of the three interior line spots and Dan Skipper and practice squad lineman Devin Cochran have starting experience at tackle.
Campbell said the Lions will give Awosika first crack at filling Mahogany’s starting spot, though he said he’d also consider moving center Graham Glasgow to guard and playing Colon at center.
On defense, the Lions are counting on the return of injured starters Kerby Joseph, D.J. Reed and Marcus Davenport and backups Josh Paschal and Malcolm Rodriguez to help with their depth issues. Rodriguez returned to practice from the physically unable to perform list last week, and the Lions started Paschal’s return-to-practice window Wednesday.
“When we make a move, you’ve got to check all the boxes,” Campbell said. “(It could be) yeah, he’s a little better, but is it really worth that for what you’re giving up versus the next guy we have ready to go as the backup that’s coming off of vet squad? Those most of the time are the ones that we’re like, ‘Well, no I don’t think so.’ And we’ve been pretty good so far. Doesn’t mean it’s perfect, but that’s just how we feel.”
Dave Birkett covers the Lions for the Detroit Free Press. Contact him at dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on Bluesky, X and Instagram at @davebirkett.