Detroit Lions trade rumors: Dan Campbell, Brad Holmes won't mess with 'vibe of this team'
With the NFL trade deadline less than a week away, Detroit Lions coach Dan Campbell said he and general manager Brad Holmes do not want to make any moves that could disrupt the chemistry of their first-place team.
"First of all, the value’s got to be right," Campbell said in his weekly Tuesday interview on 97.1-WXYT FM. "It’s got to be something that we feel like can help us, fits us. But it also can’t be something that’s going to mess with what we got going on here. He’s mindful of that and I appreciate that about him, that he knows what I’m talking about, what we’re about. And we’re not going to mess with the vibe of this team."
Campbell said there is "no talent that's worth" acquiring that would not fit what by all accounts has been a very cohesive locker room.
The Lions (5-2) won four straight games by double-digits before last week's blowout loss to the Baltimore Ravens while navigating a slew of injuries and getting significant contributions from players at the back end of their roster.
They've started six different offensive line combinations in seven games this fall, have lost two of their three biggest defensive free agent signings of the offseason to injury and rank top 10 in total scoring and passing offense and are second in the NFL in rush defense.
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Though they've built most of their roster through the draft - all 23 of their draft picks in 2021-23 are employed by the team - Holmes has orchestrated several significant trades in his nearly three years as GM.
In 2021, Holmes traded Matthew Stafford to the Los Angeles Rams for Jared Goff and three draft picks. And last year, he made his first deadline move, sending T.J. Hockenson to the Minnesota Vikings for a swap of draft picks.
Campbell said last week he had "100%" faith that whatever moves Holmes does or does not make at next Tuesday's 4 p.m. deadline would be for the betterment of the team.
The Lions could use a pass rusher to pair with Aidan Hutchinson, help for their thin secondary and more depth at receiver, but Campbell reiterated Tuesday that he and Holmes have not talked at length about potential deadline deals.
"I know he’s going through a lot of things and when it becomes serious, he’ll bring it to me," Campbell said. "But right now I’m concerned with the guys we have in this building, getting them right, and I’m also concerned with chemistry. I don’t ever want to do anything that’s going to mess the chemistry of this team up, either, cause we got the right guys here right now."
Contact Dave Birkett at dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @davebirkett.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Lions trade rumors: Dan Campbell says chemistry comes first
