Pride of Detroit
The next installment in our training camp preview series looks at the Detroit Lions’ edge rusher group.
In this installment of our Detroit Lions 2025 training camp preview series, we stay on the Lions’ defensive line by exploring the edge rusher group, speculating on current and future roles, and discussing how many players from this group could make the 53-man roster.
Previous training camp previews:
The Lions’ edge rushers opened the 2024 season with tons of promise, as superstar Aidan Hutchinson was the frontrunner for Defensive Player of the Year honors, and Detroit had several depth options playing opposite him. Unfortunately, it didn’t take long for injuries to complicate matters, and Detroit lost its top three pass rushers (Hutchinson, Marcus Davenport, and SAM linebacker Derrick Barnes) within the first five games of the season. From there, the hunt was on to find a workable solution for the remaining 13 games.
Josh Paschal was promoted to the starting lineup, but there was a rotating door opposite him. James Houston and Isaac Ukwu failed to grasp their starting opportunities, and the Lions signed Al-Quadin Muhammad and Isaiah Thomas for depth. Over the next several weeks, Muhammad found a spot in the rotation, while Houston and Thomas were released, and Ukwu remained on the practice squad. The Lions finally found their groove when they traded for Za'Darius Smith and increased Levi Onwuzurike’s usage on the edge—giving them a two-deep rotation of Smith, Paschal, Onwuzurike, and Muhammad. Mitchell Agude was promoted from the practice squad late in the season, but he was only used for depth and special teams.
The Lions entered the 2025 offseason with only four edge rushers under contract: Hutchinson (who had his fifth-year option for 2026 picked up), Smith, Paschal, and Nate Lynn (who spent the season on injured reserve). However, Smith was released in a salary cap saving move (saving $10.97M over two years). From there, the Lions went to work re-signing players, including Davenport, Muhammad, Agude, and Isaac Ukwu (futures), then drafted Ahmed Hassanein in the sixth round, and signed UDFA rookie Keith Cooper Jr. after a tryout at rookie minicamp. Lastly, John Cominsky, who spent the season on IR, retired due to medical reasons.
Under the Brad Holmes and Dan Campbell regime, the Lions have kept at least five pure edge rushers, while also relying on hybrid players from other positions (i.e., defensive lineman Levi Onwuzurike and SAM linebacker Derrick Barnes) to also contribute.
Let’s take a look at what they’ve done at edge rusher in the previous four seasons:
