Dan Campbell and Brad Holmes have together given the Detroit Lions some great moments.

For example, winning back-to-back NFC North championships in 2023 and 2024. But are the two falling off in the 2026 NFL Free Agency?

Holmes has been making moves in the Free Agency, and many fans have not been happy with it. Now, 97.1 host Mike Valenti has also stated that the Lions' head coach is not happy either.

"I'm not being coy, but I'm also not in the business of burning people. Someone who covers the team told me that this was the first off-season. There are definite differences of opinions on roster construction between Dan and Brad," he said.

Campbell is known to be an aggressive guy, and Holmes has been quite the opposite of that in free agency. The Lions general manager has taken a slow and steady approach, avoiding any bidding wars for players.

Cade Mays signed a 3-year, $25,000,000 contract with the Detroit Lions. Interestingly, this is the highest Holmes has gone with the signing in 2026. Other than him, most of the other players have been signed on a one-year contract.

Also, the Lions are up to 10 new additions in the 2026 NFL free agency.

By this time last year, they were only at seven external free agents, eight in 2024, and nine in 2023. So all these things might not be what Dan Campbell was expecting in the free agency from Brad Holmes.

Dan Campbell Might Also Be Angry Because of One Lingering Problem

ESPN recently surveyed multiple writers and analysts to evaluate which teams performed best and worst in free agency.

In that review, Matt Bowan identified the Detroit Lions as a team that has regressed over the past week.

"The Lions. They added some offensive players who fit the identity of coach Dan Campbell's program: center Cade Mays and running back Isiah Pacheco. But Detroit's defense is still missing an edge rusher opposite of Aidan Hutchinson," he said.

Al-Quadin Muhammad was the one with Hutchinson in the 2025 season. He had had 15 solo tackles, 10 assists, and 11.0 sacks in 17 games. But now he has signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the 2026 free agency.

Who should the Lions replace him with? Let us know in the comments!

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Written by

Reyansh Dubey

Edited by

Kalp Thaker