Five Detroit Lions Who Won't Be Back in 2024

The best Detroit Lions season since 1957 ended in the most heartbreaking fashion imaginable when they blew a 24-7 halftime lead over the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC Championship Game. They are very young and overachieved yet the NFL is totally cruel in that so many times teams who get this far ahead of schedule never make it back to the big stage.

Still, if ever there was a franchise that should lean into hope, it's this one. Next year's team will look much the same thanks to a glut of breakout star players still on rookie contracts. There will be some decisions to be made and the following guys may not be involved in running it back.

Ben Johnson

The whiz kid offensive coordinator passed on an opportunity to become a head coach somewhere else last offseason but it would be silly if he didn't capitalize on his red-hotness right now. Those in the know are pointing to the open Washington Commanders job and if that's where he ends up then the NFC East will not have the Commies to push around any more because Johnson has been as good as any play-caller over the past two years. Lions fans will be happy for him and thank him for his service, yet always wonder why he was so quick to abandon the run against San Francisco.

Teddy Bridgewater

Jared Goff's backup did not log any playing time in 2023 but he was a steadying force and a great option to call on in case of emergency. Bridgewater won't be in Detroit, seemingly paving the path for Hendon Hooker to be the No. 2 option, because he's retiring after a career that saw him do a bit of everything.

Josh Reynolds

Two brutal drops in huge moments during the NFC Championship Game is a tough way to go out, especially considering how reliable a third, fourth, or even fifth option Reynolds has been through the air over the past few seasons. But depth at receiver is the one area the Lions need to address on offense and the late emergence by Jameson Williams suggests to us that they'll try to put a different supporting cast member split out wide.

Romeo Okwara

Okwara was eclipsed in talent and production by several other pass-rushers so this will be a fairly easy move to predict with his contract up heading into 2024. He hopefully still has something in the tank to offer more hungry teams in free agency.

C.J. Gardner-Johnson

This one is the wild card. A splashy signing, Gardner-Johnson got hurt in Week 2 and was out until the playoffs began. He talked. A lot. As he tends to do. And ultimately didn't back it up. It didn't feel like he really bought into the vibe. Could be wrong on this one but he's been collecting a lot of teams in short order so it wouldn't be a surprise at all if there was a parting of ways.