4 Detroit Lions who won’t be back in 2025 after season ends earlier than expected
By Scott Rogust
The Detroit Lions were expected to make a run to the Super Bowl after falling short in last year's NFC Championship Game to the San Francisco 49ers. The Lions had the best record in the NFC at 15-2, won the NFC North title in a Week 18 matchup against the Washington Commanders, and had home field advantage throughout the playoffs. The first team standing in their way in the playoffs were the Washington Commanders, who shocked the world last week in a walk-off win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. As good as the Commanders played this year, the Lions were still heavily favored.
No one told the Commanders that, as they cruised to a 45-31 upset win over the Lions to advance to the NFC Championship Game. After going through a gauntlet in division, the Lions have as many wins in the playoffs as the Minnesota Vikings and Green Bay Packers — zero.
While the loss stings for the Lions, they are still in good shape. However, they could lose out on some key pieces this offseason.
4 Lions who won't be back in 2025 with season-ending at hands of Commanders
4. Allen Robinson, WR
The Lions have their wide receiver corps all set, with Amon-Ra St. Brown and Jameson Williams both leading the way. They also have a stud tight end to utilize in the passing game in Sam LaPorta. But when it comes to the third leading wide receiver on the team, that's Tim Patrick, who has 394 receiving yards on 33 catches this season.
Patrick is set to become a free agent, and with the team having over $67 million in cap space to utilize, it wouldn't be shocking to see them bring him back. But one wide receiver who can be considered gone is Allen Robinson.
Robinson went from Jacksonville Jaguars top receiver to a journeyman. Robinson is on his fourth team since 2022. This year, Robinson had initially signed with the New York Giants, but was released by the end of training camp. The Lions signed Robinson to their practice squad before eventually activating him to their roster. Yet, Robinson didn't make much of an impact, as he wasn't really in Detroit's game plan.
Robinson played in 12 games this year, where he caught three of seven targets for 30 yards. He only played in 91 offensive snaps.
The Lions could add more wideouts to their roster to bolster their chances of winning a Super Bowl next year. With that, Robinson's time in Detroit could very well be done.
3. Kevin Zeitler, G
The Lions regime of Dan Campbell and Brad Holmes have done a great job of building up their offensive line. Sure, they drafted Penei Sewell to be their right tackle for years to come, but they also made some savvy moves to fill out the rest of the line. Perhaps one of their more underrated moves was to bring in Kevin Zeitler, a veteran, sturdy guard who made his first Pro Bowl.
In his first season with the Lions, Zeitler continued his solid play, as he took part in 1,047 snaps, was called for just two penalties, and allowed five sacks, per Pro Football Focus.
Zeitler was sidelined for the Divisional Round due to picking up a hamstring injury in the team's Week 18 game against the Vikings for the NFC North championship.
Now, Zeitler is set to hit free agency. Yes, he is 34-years-old, but he should still be considered a top option for those teams looking to improve at offensive guard. With that, it's entirely likely the Lions could watch Zeitler play elsewhere next season. But, they do have the cap space to bring him back if they so choose.
2. Ben Johnson, OC
Offensive coordinator Ben Johnson is as good as gone with the Lions season officially over.
In the past two seasons, Johnson was viewed as a top head coaching candidate. Last year, Johnson notably turned down head coaching opportunities to return to the Lions for another year. This season, Johnson showed off his innovative play-calling, and turned the offense into a juggernaut this year, as they averaged 409.5 yards of offense (second in NFL) and 33.2 points (first in NFL) per game.
On Saturday, Johnson did his best to keep up with Kliff Kingsbury's offense on Washington. But they couldn't overcome the turnovers by Jared Goff, who had four on the day resulting in 21 points being scored by Washington. Detroit put up 521 yards of offense on 68 plays (7.7 yards per play).
With the season over, Johnson is expected to leave for a head coaching gig. Johnson has already interviewed with the Chicago Bears, New England Patriots, and Jacksonville Jaguars for their head coaching gigs, while being scheduled to speak with the Las Vegas Raiders. While the Patriots job is filled, Johnson is expected to land one of the other openings.
1. Aaron Glenn, DC
Talk about a rough end to the season for the Lions defense. Detroit was hit hard by injuries on their defense, notably with Aidan Hutchinson suffering a broken tibia and fibula in Week 6 against the Dallas Cowboys and cornerback Carlton Davis breaking his jaw in Week 15. Those are just two out of a multitude of injuries the Lions had to deal with. Yet, defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn coached his backups up to make all of the pays necessary to help the Lions pick up 15 wins.
But on Saturday, those injuries came back to haunt the Lions, as the defense had no answers for the Commanders offense or quarterback Jayden Daniels. Washington put up 481 yards of offense on 73 total plays. Not to mention there were costly mistakes, with the 12 men on the field on fourth down in the red zone standing out.
Even with the bad game for Detroit's offense, Glenn is a top head coaching candidate this cycle. Glenn interviewed or is scheduled to interview for every opening except the Patriots and Dallas Cowboys. The buzz is that Glenn could land with either the New York Jets or New Orleans Saints as their new head coach.
However this season ended, it was expected to be Glenn's last with the team before becoming an NFL head coach.