Why the Lions unofficially won the offseason
Updated: Apr 29
Roman Bruno, Sports Editor
The new Hard Knocks poster featuring the Detroit Lions. Photo//Detroit Lions via Twitter
The Lions had a busy offseason through their free agency and draft acquisitions. As much as people want to grade the moves they made, or did not make, Detroit was one of the biggest winners this offseason for news irrelevant to the players and coaches.
It was announced on March 28, 2022 that the Detroit Lions would be featured in the newest season of HBO’s ‘Hard Knocks.’ This series gives fans a peek behind the curtain of how NFL franchises operate during training camp, including all-access footage from meeting rooms, interactions between coaches and players, and any drama that stirs up.
Teams that are eligible for consideration are those with a head coach that was with the team the season prior, in addition to the team not making the playoffs for the previous two seasons. This narrowed it down to three teams: the Carolina Panthers, New York Jets, and Detroit Lions.
The Lions ultimately got the nod, which will put HC Dan Campbell and other player personalities under the microscope and on display for everyone to see. This should make for an exciting series, and Lions fans are flocking to pay for their HBO subscriptions.
While this will be the first time the Lions have been on ‘Hard Knocks,’ this will actually be QB Jared Goff’s third time. His first two appearances were with the Los Angeles Rams, his former team, during his rookie season in 2017 and then again in 2020.
The five-part series will run from August 9 to September 6. Get your popcorn ready.
Hours after the announcement that the Lions would be featured on ‘Hard Knocks,’ the NFL announced that Detroit would host the 2024 Draft. The draft has become one of the biggest commercialized spectacles in sports, so this is a big deal for the city and Lions fans.
The only other candidates Detroit was running against for this bid were Green Bay and Washington D.C., and luckily Detroit was able to secure the deal. With Detroit unlikely to host another Super Bowl in the near future, the draft will be the biggest sports event in the city for quite a while.
Campus Martius Park and Hart Plaza will be the location for the draft and other festivities.
These two announcements alone will put Detroit back on the map and bring notoriety to the Lions and the city once again.