By Mike Moratis
We are on to the third week of free agency and the Detroit Lions have yet to address their biggest need going into the offseason.
That need comes along the edge, where the team lacks a starting option opposite star Aidan Hutchinson. The Lions cut Za’Darius Smith to make their situation even more dire, and they re-signed Marcus Davenport, but as we saw last year, he is too injury-prone to be relied upon for a significant role.
While we could see the Lions adding an edge rusher at some point in the draft, the team needs an immediate solution to help for 2025. With that in mind, Touchdown Wire’s Jarrett Bailey pegged the Lions as the best landing spot for Atlanta Falcons free agent edge rusher, Matt Judon.
“Matt Judon is past the point of his career where he can be a No. 1 edge rusher for a contending team, but he would be a very good No. 2,” he wrote. “The Lions likely would have loved to trade for Myles Garrett, who spent a month pretending to care about winning before signing a record-breaking extension with notorious winners, the Cleveland Browns. So, still in need of a No. 2 opposite Aidan Hutchinson, Judon would be a great addition. He only had 5.5 sacks last season with the Atlanta Falcons, but in a Robin rather than Batman role, he could see that number go up and make the Lions’ pass rush more dangerous.”Related video: Detroit Lions Free Agency: Offensive Line & Brad Holmes’ Plans (Bullish – Video)
Detroit Lions Free Agency: Offensive Line & Brad Holmes’ Plans
Judon, who played out the final year of his $54 million contract in 2024, is coming off a down season with the Falcons that saw him total 5.5 sacks, his lowest total in a non-injury-shortened season since his 2016 rookie campaign, which has led to fears about a decline for the soon-to-be 33-year-old.
However, Judon was also coming back from a torn biceps injury in a 2023 season in which he tallied 4.5 sacks in just four games.
The Lions don’t need Judon to be their top edge rusher, but rather a complementary piece to Hutchinson, who could propel Judon to a bounce-back year as he takes on most of the attention from opposing offenses.
According to Spotrac, Judon should be very affordable, with the outlet projecting him for a two-year, $8.4 million deal, something the Lions can easily afford. We would only suggest the Lions commit to Judon for one year, though.
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We hoped to see the Lions make a bigger splash than this, but general manager Brad Holmes could certainly do worse than the four-time Pro Bowler.
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