{"id":818973,"date":"2026-03-18T11:45:27","date_gmt":"2026-03-18T11:45:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/818973\/"},"modified":"2026-03-18T11:45:27","modified_gmt":"2026-03-18T11:45:27","slug":"which-2026-free-agent-loss-will-have-the-biggest-impact-on-the-lions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/818973\/","title":{"rendered":"Which 2026 free agent loss will have the biggest impact on the Lions?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Throughout the offseason, SB Nation will host surveys for NFL fans, sponsored by the folks over at FanDuel Sportsbook<\/a>. For Pride of Detroit, we are tasked with fielding questions from Detroit Lions fans, and as we move through the first few waves of the offseason free agency period, the Lions have lost some familiar names, so we thought it would be a good time to check in once again.<\/p>\n

In this week\u2019s SB Nation Reacts survey, we have just one question:<\/p>\n

For this question, we have provided five options for Lions fans to choose from, but as always, if you have a different name you believe is more significantly relevant, shout them out in the comments. Here are the choices for this week\u2019s survey question:<\/p>\n

Decker has locked down the left side of the Lions\u2019 offensive line for a decade, and while he debated retirement, his return was equally as surprising as his asking for his release after the Lions presumably asked him to take a pay cut. The Lions have signed Larry Borom as a replacement on the offensive line, but Detroit may also use a high draft pick to help make up for the loss of Decker.<\/p>\n

Muhammad was viewed as a pass-rush specialist by the Lions, but he maximized his opportunities in Detroit, securing 11 sacks in 2026, and he signed with Tampa Bay on a 1-year deal worth up to $6 million. The Lions signed edge rusher D.J. Wonnum to a similar 1-year deal worth up to $6 million, but stylistically, he is closer to Marcus Davenport than Muhammed. If Wonnum is headed for the early down role, the Lions will likely still be on the hunt to find a pass-rushing specialist, though that could be a high-priority target in the draft.<\/p>\n

Lopez got a contract bump and a raise this offseason by returning to the Cardinals, and the Lions haven\u2019t added any free agents to replace him. Now, they are returning Levi Onwuzurike from injury, but his health and ability to make an impact are still unknown. Meaning the Lions may still be on the hunt for a DT3 Lopez-like player.<\/p>\n

Anzalone was the leader of the Lions\u2019 defense for four seasons before (reluctantly) passing the reins to Jack Campbell this past season. The Lions began preparing for Anzalone\u2019s departure last season when they gave a contract extension to Derrick Barnes, and this offseason, they have re-signed Malcolm Rodriguez and Trevor Nowaske, but replacing none of the three can one-for-one replace Anzalone\u2019s instincts and coverage skills. This may be another high-priority position they attack in the draft.<\/p>\n

Robertson was a steady inside\/out corner with an infectious dog mentality. The Lions opted to sign nickelback Roger McCreary as a replacement, while also securing positionally fluid Christian Izien as insurance. Neither may be as consistent as Robertson, but both are young, hungry, and have upside to work with.<\/p>\n

Alright, now it\u2019s time for you to weigh in. Please vote in the survey below, share your feedback in the comments, and check back later this week for the results.<\/p>\n

Throughout the year, we ask questions of the most plugged-in Detroit Lions<\/a> fans and fans across the country. If you want to get these surveys emailed to you weekly, you can sign up here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Throughout the offseason, SB Nation will host surveys for NFL fans, sponsored by the folks over at FanDuel…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":818974,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2071],"tags":[146,113,52105,84539,449,2506,7,147,6],"class_list":{"0":"post-818973","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-detroit-lions","8":"tag-detroit","9":"tag-detroit-lions","10":"tag-detroit-lions-conversation-starters-and-community-questions","11":"tag-detroit-lions-discussion","12":"tag-detroit-lions-analysis","13":"tag-detroitlions","14":"tag-football","15":"tag-lions","16":"tag-nfl"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116250012998795839","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/818973","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=818973"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/818973\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/818974"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=818973"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=818973"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=818973"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}