Detroit Lions Offseason Health Review: Additions vs Subtractions
Comparing ages and medical concern levels of offseason moves
Dan Campbell recently stated that the Lions needed to get younger. Let’s take a look at the data to see if the Lions indeed got younger and healthier this offseason. Here is a comparison of the additions vs subtractions this offseason as of March 30, 2026.
Read the comprehensive medical profiles of offseason additions.
Read the injury analyses of Lions offseason free agent losses.
These medical concern levels are subjective and based on public information. Levels range from 0 (no concern) to 10 (major concern).
The player list includes free agents, ERFA (Saylors, Niese, Whiteside, Bates), and futures deals from other teams (Gordon, McLaughlin).
Quick Takeaways of Additions vs Subtractions
The additions were 2.5 years younger on average than the subtractions.
The additions had a lower medical concern level 3.0 vs 4.3.
Overall, the Lions appear to have accomplished the goal of getting younger and healthier.
(Ages in parentheses are at start of 2026 season)
Detroit Lions Offseason Additions - 24 total
Average age: 27.5
Average concern level: 3.0
Concern level:
10 - Payton Turner (27) DE
9 - Ben Bartch (28) OL
8
7
6 - Isiah Pacheco (27) RB, Seth McLaughlin (25) C
5 - Juice Scruggs (26) OG
4 - Malcolm Rodriguez (27) LB, Damone Clark (26) LB
3 - DJ Wonnum (28) EDGE, Larry Borom (27) OT, Jake Bates (27) K, Nick Whiteside (26) CB
2 - Roger McCreary (26) CB, Tyler Conklin (31) TE, Christian Izien (26) CB, Rock Ya-Sin (30) CB, Greg Dortch (28) WR
1 - Cade Mays (27) C, Tom Kennedy (30) WR, Trevor Nowaske (27) LB, Teddy Bridgewater (33) QB, Myles Adams (28) DT, Michael Niese (28) OG
0 - Thomas Gordon (26) TE, Jacob Saylors (26) RB
Detroit Lions Offseason Subtractions - 26 total
(Some of these players are still unsigned and could return to the Lions.)
Average age: 30
Average concern level: 4.3
Concern level:
10 - Josh Paschal (26) EDGE, Taylor Decker (33) OT
9 - Dan Skipper (31) OT, Marcus Davenport (30) EDGE, Ezekiel Turner (30) LB
8 - Jamarco Jones (30) OT
7 - Zach Cunningham (31) LB
6 - Arthur Maulet (33) CB, DJ Reader (32) DT, Graham Glasgow (34) C
5 - Avonte Maddox (30) S, Al-Quadin Muhammad (31) EDGE, Pat O’Connor (32) DL
4 - Shane Zylstra (29) TE
3 - Kayode Awosika (27) OG, Alex Anzalone (31) LB
2 - Jalen Mills (32) S, Trystan Colon (28) OG, Anthony Firkser (31) TE, Kalif Raymond (32) WR
1 - Daniel Thomas (28) S, Grant Stuard (27) LB, David Montgomery (29) RB
0 - Amik Robertson (28) CB, Roy Lopez (29) DT, Tyrus Wheat (26) EDGE, Kyle Allen (30) QB
In the below “Age” graph, you can see the marked age distribution difference of the subtractions (red) vs the additions (blue).
In the below “Concern Level” graph, you can see that the Lions have been able to decrease the number of players towards the right side (higher concern level).
Conclusions
Given the Lions massive injury woes over the past two seasons, Brad Holmes and Dan Campbell may have decided to proactively attack the problem by selecting younger and healthier players before the season even starts. This strategy should improve the odds that the Lions have a healthier season.
For more injury prevention strategies…