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The Detroit Lions know that the 2024 season is a tough act to follow. Detroit won 15 games and secured the No. 1 seed in the NFC playoffs, both of which were franchise firsts. The Lions did not make any noise in the playoffs though, which is their biggest area of improvement for the 2025 season.
The Lions made some big moves this offseason to help get them back to the playoffs in 2025. But it will be tough sledding after losing both coordinators to head coaching jobs. And the sudden retirement of All-Pro center Frank Ragnow.
The next big test for the Lions will be training camp and the preseason. There are several position battles that Lions fans should be watching during training camp. Especially because the roster has more depth than ever before.
Since Detroit has so much depth, they will face some hard decisions on roster cut down day.
Below we will explore three sneaky Lions trade candidates entering training camp. Could Detroit move any of these players during the 2025 NFL season?
Reader is probably the most surprising player on this list. The 31-year-old veteran has been everything the Lions hoped he would be.
Mike Payton of A to Z Sports shared a hypothetical trade offer back in June. That offer would send Reader to the Bills in exchange for edge rusher AJ Epenesa.
But could Reader actually be on the trade block? Anything is possible in the NFL, but I seriously doubt it.
Reader is in the final year of his two-year contract with a $12.93 million cap hit. That alone makes him borderline unmovable. But it would also be a bad move to trade Reader because of how much the Lions will need him early in the season.
Alim McNeill tore his ACL during the second half of the 2024 season. He is not scheduled to return until the second half of the 2025 season.
Detroit did draft Tyleik Williams in the first round of the 2025 NFL Draft, which helps. The Lions also have Levi Onwuzurike, Mekhi Wingo, and Roy Lopez as reserve players.
If the Lions did trade Reader, they would suddenly have big question marks on the interior of the defensive line.
Alex Anzalone may be the most difficult player on this list to figure out.
Anzalone turns 31 years old in September and it feels like he’s coming towards the end of his time in Detroit.
The biggest reason to suspect that Detroit might move on from Anzalone is his contract situation.
Anzalone is in the final year of his existing contract with a cap hit of $7.26 million in 2025. His future with the Lions is not guaranteed past this season, which some believed has irked the veteran linebacker.
Jeff Risdon of Lions Wire reported back in June that Anzalone made a cryptic post on Instagram....
