Lions HC Dan Campbell Called For Change to Roster

After blowing a 17-point lead to the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC Championship Game for the 2023 season, Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell was worried that his core group might have squandered its best opportunity to make the Super Bowl.

“This may have been our only shot,” he said.

The Lions went 15-2 the next season before being upset by the Washington Commanders in the Divisional Round. Detroit missed the playoffs in 2025 after going 9-8.

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The Lions saw major turnover with the roster this offseason. Linebacker Alex Anzalone and edge Al-Quadin Muhammad signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in free agency. Defensive tackle D.J. Reader signed with the New York Giants.

Offensive tackle Taylor Decker was released. Offensive lineman Graham Glasgow was released. The Lions traded running back David Montgomery to the Houston Texans.

On Friday, Campbell explained the reasons for the high turnover this offseason. The Lions had to make sure they had enough cap space when free agency started. He also suggested it was time to get some new blood into the program after missing the postseason.

“When you’ve been able to hold a group together for a significant amount of time, and then it doesn't, you don’t get the benefits you want or the results that you want,” Campbell said, via video from Brad Galli. “Now, there are a lot of things that go into that, but it’s probably time to shake it up a little bit.”

Campbell said he’s thankful that the players who exited this offseason helped to turn around the Lions.

Detroit will benefit from added competition all around the roster this offseason, and Campbell thinks the team will evolve on all phases of their team before the regular season.

“There are a lot of things that will never change here that we’re about, but there are going to be things that, yes, we evolve offensively, defensively, special teams,” he said. "There's a lot that we can get better at.”

The Lions weren’t going to compete for a Super Bowl with the team they had last season. Their NFC North rivals, the Chicago Bears and Green Bay Packers have gotten stronger in the last two offseasons.

Change was necessary if Detroit was going to get better.

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This story was originally published May 29, 2026 at 2:58 PM.