There may not be reason to panic yet if you're a Detroit Lions fan, but reasons are certainly starting to pile up that this team could be in for a bit of a regression -- to say the least -- in 2025.
The Lions are already having to deal with the losses of offensive coordaintor Ben Johnson and defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn, who took over the head coaching roles for the Bears and Jets, respectively. Then, there's the natural turnover of a roster that happens for just about every team in the league, but the Lions have had some pretty big losses on the offensive line in 2025.
Notably, they lost starters Kevin Zeitler and Frank Ragnow, with the latter announcing his surprise retirement recently on Instagram.
Frank Ragnow's retirement adds to list of tough breaks for Lions in 2025 offseason
The losses of coordinators is rough, but having to break in multiple new starters on the interior offensive line? The Lions have previously been able to sleep well at night knowing they have one of the best offensive play-callers in the game as well as one of the best all-around offensive lines.
That's no longer the case.
They also are dealing with the fact that they haven't made many upgrades to the defensive front, particularly off the edge. As much as first-round pick Tyleik Williams should help on the interior, the Lions have decidedly not upgraded off the edge, an area they struggled with depth a season ago.
The secondary also remains a question mark with a lot of young players and moving parts in that area of the roster.
Dan Campbell has his work cut out for him. He's really going to have to lean on the experience of veteran quarterback Jared Goff and hope that the protection holds up for Goff. The offense is already going to look vastly different without Ben Johnson out there, not because John Morton is going to come in and run a completely different scheme, but because he doesn't see the game the same way Johnson does.
Does that automatically mean things will be worse? It doesn't, but it will be interesting to see what the domino effect is if the Lions' interior offensive line struggles with giving up pressure early in the season. It's possible there will be three new starters there.
Add in the fact that the Lions play in one of the most competitive divisions in football, and you have the recipe for something potentially rough facing this team in 2025.