Dan Campbell: Brad Holmes 'grinding' away to help Detroit Lions at NFL trade deadline
The Detroit Lions could be buyers at Tuesday's NFL trade deadline, and head coach Dan Campbell added some mystery to their plans Saturday.
Asked if Lions general manager Brad Holmes had brought any intriguing moves to his attention, Campbell paused briefly and said, "Maybe."
"Ask Brad," Campbell said.
The Lions (5-2) enter the week comfortably atop the NFC North heading into Monday night's game against the Las Vegas Raiders (3-4) and in contention for the top seed in the NFC playoffs.
Campbell has made it clear he does not want to make a move that would disrupt his team's chemistry, but the Lions could use upgrades at wide receiver, edge rusher and/or in the defensive secondary to keep pace with the NFC's other top teams the Philadelphia Eagles and San Francisco 49ers.
Both the Eagles (for safety Kevin Byard) and 49ers (for defensive end Randy Gregory) have made trades in recent weeks to bolster their defensive depth.
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While only a handful of NFL teams are currently in sell mode, this week's games could help shape the market. In the NFC, the Arizona Cardinals (1-6) and Carolina Panthers (0-6) are the only teams that sit more than a game out of the final wild card spot, while the AFC has six teams with losing records.
Campbell said playing on Monday, less than 24 hours before Tuesday's deadline, won't impact the Lions' ability to close a deal. Teams have until 4 p.m. Tuesday to finalize trades.
"There’ll be some things that could come up," he said. "Now, Brad’s been grinding. I mean, he hasn’t stopped on that, so that’ll continue, that’ll go all the way up to game time, beyond, but that won’t affect me or us or anything we do. We’re business as usual."
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Good to see C.J.
Campbell said it's still too early to know if safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson will play again this season after undergoing surgery to repair a torn pectoral muscle. Gardner-Johnson made a surprise visit to the Lions' Allen Park facility on Friday, and will continue to travel back and forth from Michigan to Florida for his rehab.
"I know this, it’s good having him back," Campbell said. "You do forget about just kind of what he brings, his energy, until you see him back out there. So it was good to just have him around and he is, he’s all energy, man. And I know rehab’s going well, he’s doing good, so it’s good to see him."
Ragnow doubtful for Monday
Frank Ragnow is one of two Lions who has not missed an offensive snap this season, but the Pro Bowl center's availability for Monday night's game against the Las Vegas Raiders is in doubt because of a calf injury.
Ragnow missed his third straight practice with calf and toe injuries Saturday, and is listed as doubtful on the team's official injury report.
"Here’s the good news: We got really three days, because it’s a night game on Monday," Campbell said Saturday. "That’s a long time to recover, so it’s really kind of day to day."
The Lions (5-2) have kept Ragnow on a regular maintenance program most of the season, giving him one day off of practice a week to rest a toe injury that has bothered him since 2021.
Last week, Ragnow took part in both practices and the Lions' Wednesday walk-through, then played the entire game Sunday against the Baltimore Ravens. He has not practiced this week, though Campbell said Ragnow did some on-field work Saturday morning and was scheduled to do more after practice.
The Lions have started six different combinations on their offensive line through seven games this year, and could be looking at a seventh grouping Monday.
Graham Glasgow, who has made starts at both left and right guard, will shift to center if Ragnow can't play, and Kayode Awosika likely would start at left guard.
Left tackle Taylor Decker missed two games with a high ankle sprain, right guard Halapoulivaati Vaitai missed most of four games with a knee injury, and left guard Jonah Jackson will miss his third straight game Monday with a high ankle sprain.
Right tackle Penei Sewell is the only other Lions player who has not missed an offensive snap this season. He moved to left tackle for two games when Decker was out.
"That’s one of the reasons Graham’s here, man, his reliability and the fact that he’s played multiple positions," Campbell said. "He played obviously plenty of center last year and he’s done it in this league. So a lot of confidence there. We got Yode, we got (Colby) Sorsdal, we got Skip (Dan Skipper), we got all kinds of options."
Along with Ragnow, the Lions ruled out Jackson and running back David Montgomery (ribs) for Monday, and Josh Paschal (knee), Benito Jones (ankle), Malcolm Rodriguez (ankle) and Vaitai (back) are questionable.
Paschal did not practice Saturday and was a new addition to the injury report.
Catch the "Carlos and Shawn" podcast every week on freep.com/podcasts or wherever you listen to podcasts (Apple, Spotify). This week's show starts with diagnosing the Lions' trajectory, and ends with a debate on the sign-stealing investigation into Michigan football. Listen below:
Contact Dave Birkett at dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him @davebirkett.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Intrigue heating up for Detroit Lions at NFL trade deadline: Ask Brad
