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The Detroit Lions are coming off one of their best seasons in franchise history. Detroit won 15 games in 2024, claimed their second consecutive NFC North title, and secured the No. 1 seed in the NFC playoffs. All of those are firsts for the Lions as a franchise.
Unfortunately, the Lions also had one of their more disappointing finishes in recent memory. Detroit lost in the Divisional Round against Washington, ending their postseason run just as it was getting started. That was exactly what Lions fans did not want to see after getting their Super Bowl hopes crushed during last year’s NFC Championship.
Now the Lions must transition into offseason mode and figure out how to improve the team.
Detroit has plenty of resources to work with to make that happen. They currently have $51 million in cap space to use in free agency and seven picks in the 2025 NFL Draft, including the 28th overall pick.
The Lions need to add talent on the defensive side of the ball. Edge rusher is the most obvious position of need, but the Lions could also add pieces in the secondary and at defensive tackle.
Detroit would be wise to pursue every avenue available to them to upgrade the roster. That includes making trades with other teams.
If the Lions were to pull off a big trade this offseason, who might they go after?
Below we will outline one perfect trade the Detroit Lions must complete during the 2025 NFL offseason.
Before we dive into the analysis, here are the trade terms.
Lions receive:
Browns receive:
Everyone around the NFL wants the Lions to trade for Myles Garrett. While I would personally love to see that happen, it simply isn’t realistic for either team.
One thing that is often neglected in articles like this one is that a trade must make sense for both sides. The Browns have made it very clear that they don’t want to trade Myles Garrett, despite his recent trade request.
That said, the Browns are in cap hell. Cleveland is presently $24 million over the salary cap and does not have a clear path to getting rid of Deshaun Watson’s fully-guaranteed contract. The Browns also have over $50 million in dead cap this season from previous contracts for Amari Cooper, Za’Darius Smith, and Jedrick Wills.
This is important because it confirms the Browns need to shed cap space this offseason. It is also the main reason why the Browns could be willing to trade Greg Newsome II.
The Browns picked up the fifth-year option on Newsome II’s rookie contract, giving him a cap hit of $13.38 million in 2025. If the Browns trade him this offseason, they’ll get the full amount in immediate cap relief. This move alone gets them more than halfway towards being salary cap compliant.
Enough about the Browns. Why is this trade perfect...
