Pride of Detroit
With the Detroit Lions’ 2026 offseason upon us, it’s time to look ahead to the upcoming months to see what’s in store for the team and the NFL. There is no true downtime in the NFL, as the offseason is packed with important events, dates, and deadlines to keep teams active and the league in the news cycle.
This will be one of the more important offseasons for the Lions, as they try to recapture the success that brought them to relevancy under coach Dan Campbell and general manager Brad Holmes. Here are the important 2026 offseason dates for the Lions and the rest of the NFL.
Jan. 5 — Teams can start re-signing their own players, CFL players
On Day 1 of the offseason, teams can start signing players whose contracts expire at the start of the 2026 League New Year. We’ve already seen the Lions sign three of their exclusive-rights free agents and nine players from their practice squad. Those signings are likely to trickle in over the course of the next two months before the start of free agency.
Jan. 23-27 — East-West Shrine Bowl practices, game
One of the more popular college all-star games, the East-West Shrine Bowl will begin with practices on January 23 and culminate in the game on Tuesday, January 27 at 7 p.m. ET. The game will be televised on NFL Network.
Jan. 27-31 — Senior Bowl
Just as the East-West Shrine Bowl concludes, the Senior Bowl—another college football all-star game to highlight the 2026 NFL Draft class—picks up. Three days of practices will lead up to the game on Saturday, January 31, at 2:30 p.m. ET. This will also be televised on NFL Network.
Feb. 3— 2026 Pro Bowl games
The Lions had five players named to the 2026 Pro Bowl and five alternates. It’s unclear when the skills competition will be televised in the week leading up to the game, but the flag football game will be on February 3 at 8 p.m. ET.
Feb. 5 — NFL Honors award show
At 9 p.m. ET, the NFL will air its annual awards show on NFL Network and NBC. At this time, finalists haven’t been announced, but several Lions could be up for awards, including Aidan Hutchinson as a possible Comeback Player of the Year candidate and Jahmyr Gibbs as a potential long-shot at Offensive Player of the Year.
Feb. 17 — Franchise/transition tag window opens
Teams can start designating their selections for the franchise or transition tag (difference explained here). The Lions haven’t used the franchise tag since 2018 (Ezekiel Ansah), and there are no real candidates to get it this year. You can see the projected cost of each tag here.
Feb. 23 – March 2 — NFL Combine
While this event is about NFL Draft prospects, it’s also the time when the media meets with Lions general manager Brad Holmes, coach Dan Campbell, and any potential new coaching hires.
**March 3 —...
