Pride of Detroit
It feels like ever since the Detroit Lions hired general manager Brad Holmes, their biggest weakness has been with the secondary. For years, Holmes has signed and drafted players at cornerback and both safety positions. He has tried to make splashy moves in signings like Cam Sutton and D.J. Reed and drafting cornerbacks like Terrion Arnold and Ennis Rakestraw, but so far they’ve all had their own issues. One mistake he hasn’t made at the position, though, was signing Rock Ya-Sin.
Holmes signed Ya-Sin in the 2025 offseason to provide the young room with some veteran presence and valuable depth. Little did Holmes know just how important Ya-Sin would be for that season and beyond. Let’s dive into Ya-Sin’s time in Detroit and see what the future holds for this critical signing.
Previous season previews: RB Jahmyr Gibbs, RB Sione Vaki, OT Penei Sewell, WR Isaac TeSlaa, WR Jameson Williams, EDGE Aidan Hutchinson, DL Levi Onwuzurike, CB D.J. Reed, and S Brian Branch
The Lions made a splashy free-agent signing in Reed during the 2025 offseason to give them a solid CB1 after their previous CB1, Sutton, got into legal trouble, leading to his release in March 2024. That forced the team to draft not one but two cornerbacks in the 2024 draft, giving them multiple chances to find a solid starting cornerback. Given how it played out, the Lions got Reed but also signed Ya-Sin to a one-year deal in 2025, giving them another veteran in the room who can provide valuable depth if needed.
Ya-Sin had low expectations heading into 2025, just brought in to be CB4 at best and play when needed, and if someone went down, you knew you could trust him to step in quickly and do his job. With Arnold getting a better chance to develop in 2025, he wasn’t expected to do much at all, with nickelback Amik Robertson able to step to the outside if the team was in a crunch.
17 games (6 starts)
Stats: 47 tackles and nine pass deflections
PFF defensive grade: 62.8 (58th out of 121 qualifying cornerbacks — minimum 246 snaps)
PFF coverage grade: 64.8 (47th out of 121)
PFF tackling grade: 81.4 (5th out of 121)
PFF run defense grade: 50.8 (95th out of 121)
As in the 2024 season, the 2025 Lions roster battled through multiple injuries, and Ya-Sin saw his role expand quickly. Rakestraw was out for the year before the season even started, and Arnold missed nine games, pushing Ya-Sin to play more, with Robertson playing some outside and inside. Then, later on, Reed would suffer an injury, and Ya-Sin would have no choice but to get six starts, playing in every single game in 2025.
When the moment was up for Ya-Sin to do something, he stepped up to the plate. While he wasn’t perfect, he proved he was better than CB4 on the roster. He was arguably the...
