Lions GM Holmes: Playoff run not a fluke
Detroit Lions general manager Brad Holmes expressed confidence that his team will be a force to be reckoned with for years to come.
"I don't want anybody to think that this was a one-shot, Cinderella, magical journey that just happened," Holmes said Monday, according to ESPN's Eric Woodyard. "No, it's real. ... I understand if you have a season like this, it's easy to feel like this was kind of a one-shot, magical, lucky, cute story. Which I'm tired of hearing. It was none of that."
The Lions went 12-5 this season, matching the team's best win total in franchise history. Detroit won a pair of playoff games against the Los Angeles Rams and Tampa Bay Buccaneers before falling to the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC Championship Game.
Holmes and head coach Dan Campbell faced backlash for some moves they made last offseason. The team spent first-round picks on running back Jahmyr Gibbs and linebacker Jack Campbell before selecting defensive back Brian Branch and tight end Sam LaPorta in the second. Many felt like those picks should've been spent on higher-value positions.
However, all four rookies played significant roles for the team. LaPorta, in particular, excelled, earning a second-team All-Pro nod and Pro Bowl selection. Gibbs also made the Pro Bowl as an alternate.
"I'm not up here to give 'I-told-you-sos,' but I would say I told you so was when we selected the player," Holmes said. "As long as Dan (Campbell) and I are convicted in selecting these players, you sleep like a baby. And we slept like a baby after we selected those players, and all the criticism that came and transpired the day after the draft, or the week after the draft, you can't be a prisoner of the moment."
As the offseason draws closer, Holmes said he's focused on making decisions to help the club win playoff games rather than earn summer superlatives.
"Over the next few months, every move that we make is to win in December. It's not to win March, April, and May, which, it's easy to do. If that's your aim, you can win March, April, and May. But no, everything is intentional," the 44-year-old said. "It may look strange. It may look like, 'Well, why did they do this?' But trust me, it is to win in December. So, that's why we made the moves that we have made."
The Lions are currently slated to have around $47.7 million in cap space to make moves for 2024, according to Over the Cap. Detroit also owns the No. 29 pick in the first round.