How can we even have a conversation about teams that will or won't be back without looking at this shyt honestly as football fans instead of drive-by casuals? Setting aside the fact that losing in the SB is very different for your future than losing in a conference championship, the biggest driver of good team turnover is free agency and losing/replacing coordinators. The major benefit the Lions have is that we're significantly younger than recent teams who made it this far (or lost in the SB) and all of our best players are under contract.
How many key contributors (or even key depth guys) do you see? Because I just see Jonah Jackson, Josh Reynolds, Jalen Reeves-Maybin, and a long snapper. Jackson is the best player there but this o-line looked good without him last night (surprisingly). I think he's gone and I'm fine with it; he prob lost himself money this year. Josh Reynolds is good, despite the terrible performance last night, but with Jamo fully up to speed he's replaceable. I want Reeves-Maybin back for special teams, and the long snapper. Everyone else can go. Including Gardner-Johnson who was a fukking idiot last night.
The point is that the Lions got this far with an incredibly flawed roster, and now have the cap space and draft capitol to fix it. Specifically signing an actual NFL caliber CB.
Coordinator wise, I think Aaron Glenn is coming back. And I honestly don't think losing Ben Johnson is the issue most people think it is, unless we just whiff on the new hire. So there's certainly a risk there but I feel good. This offense is heavily influenced by Campbell and Goff and looked good even in late 2021 when Campbell took over play calling.
In short I'm tired of this assumption that everyone is gonna get better but us, when we have as many or more resources for the offseason.
