It makes sense why Detroit Lions fans may be feeling frustrated or discouraged about the direction of the franchise.

After the best regular season in Lions history and its first time capturing the NFC’s No. 1 seed in 2024, Detroit slumped to 9-8 and missed the playoffs altogether. Looking at the Lions’ 2026 salary cap situation as the new league year and free agency approaches might unnerve the Detroit faithful, too.

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But, thanks primarily to its restructure potential and some cut candidates, there’s more financial wiggle room for the franchise than meets the eye.

Even after a frustrating finish in 2025, the Lions bring back a talented group of stars that includes quarterback Jared Goff, wide receivers Amon-Ra St. Brown and Jameson Williams, running backs Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery and defensive stars Aidan Hutchinson and Jack Campbell.

ESPN feels like the Lions are a prime candidate for a 2026 bounce back. In its look at NFL overhaul tiers for 2025’s 18 non-playoff teams, the Lions join the Baltimore Ravens and Kansas City Chiefs in the “no need to panic” category.

Detroit still has one of the league’s most talented rosters and should jump right back into contention. The hiring of offensive coordinator Drew Petzing isn’t splashy but will prove vital. – Jeremy Fowler, ESPN

Fowler and ESPN listed edge rusher Al-Quadin Muhammad as Detroit’s top free agent. One of the lone concerns from Fowler was the reality that the Lions have committed nearly $1 billion to star players on extensions and there are still extensions to navigate to other young stars such as Gibbs, Campbell and tight end Sam LaPorta.

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But, while the sour taste of a 9-8 finish in 2025 is fresh on fans’ minds, ESPN views the Lions alongside the Ravens and Chiefs as obvious candidates for postseason returns in 2026.

The rest of ESPN’s tiers for non-playoff teams broke down like this:

A few moves awaySneaky good trajectorySomewhere between contention and resetIn the middle of a rebuildFull-blown overhaul

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This article originally appeared on Lions Wire: ESPN says ‘no need to panic’ on Detroit Lions 2026 playoff return