5 Detroit Lions players who won't be back next season

The Detroit Lions' 2024 season ended unceremoniously in the Divisional Round of the playoffs, as the Washington Commanders were simply the better team in all facets.

Now the Lions will look toward the offseason earlier then they wanted to, with some key free agency decisions to be made. The core of the roster is in place, and will remain that way as others get notable contracts, but the pieces around that core will always change every offseason.

The Lions have some notable free agents, many of which they'd surely like to have back. But we also know general manager Brad Holmes will pivot quickly when necessary (see David Montgomery for Jamaal Williams two years ago), and the Lions are going to continue to be a team free agents want to sign with.

Some of these are easy, and a couple are more nuanced. But one way or another, these five Lions players feel sure to not be back next season.

5 Lions players who won't be back next season

5. DT Levi Onwuzurike

Onwuzurike was finally healthy this year, playing in 16 of 17 regular season games (10 starts) and totaling 698 snaps played (including the playoff game). Some of his surface stats weren't eye-popping (28 total tackles and 1.5 sacks during the regular season), but he did have 13 quarterback hits and he was tied for 24th among defensive tackles in overall grade from Pro Football Focus.

With Alim McNeill's status for the start of next season up in the air due to a torn right ACL, the Lions may be compelled to re-sign the first defensive lineman they took in the 2021 draft. But Onwuzurike should have a decent market in free agency after showing what he can do when healthy. He also may have priced himself out of what the Lions would be willing to do to bring him back, and if so it'll be easy to turn toward cheaper options to fill his role.

It's great that Onwuzurike was healthy this year and performed well. But that also made it turn strongly toward unlikely he remains a Lion next season, unless he takes less than what he could get elsewhere (in years and money) to stay.

4. QB Hendon Hooker

For much of last offseason, the Lions made it clear Hooker had a lot of work to do. The fact he couldn't immediately overtake Nate Sudfeld for the No. 2 spot on the depth chart behind Jared Goff stood as a red flag, until Sudfeld proved himself to be so bad he couldn't be kept.

The Lions reportedly had some interest in Daniel Jones after the Giants let him go, and after that Teddy Bridgewater came out of retirement to join the team. Dan Campbell lauded the "different world" the team was about to go into (the playoffs), which Bridgewater's one career playoff start would apparently be helpful to navigating compared to Hooker's inexperience. Then Bridgewater was elevated over Hooker for the playoff game against Washington, leaving Hooker as the emergency No. 3 quarterback.

The bottom lines with Hooker are these. He just turned 27 (Jan. 13), and he has now burned two years of his four-year rookie contract. Goff is under contract through 2028, so barring a very significant injury to him Hooker has no path to starting in Detroit before his rookie contract expires.

The tea leaves say the Lions will try to replace Hooker as Goff's backup this offseason. If he's not going to be locked in as the primary backup, in his third season, then they should trade him.

Hooker might have been a first-round pick if not for a torn ACL late in his final college season. So he seems like a very tradeable asset, and any teams who are looking to turn over whatever stones they can for an answer under center should be interested. Teams who also liked him entering the 2023 draft would be a good starting point.

3. CB Emmanuel Moseley

The Lions first signed Moseley in 2023 free agency, when he was coming of a torn ACL. He had a setback in his recovery that summer, then he tore his other ACL two snaps into his Lions' debut in Week 5 of the 2023 season. Still, the Lions brought him back on another one-year deal last March.

During joint practices against the New York Giants in August, Moseley suffered a torn pectoral. He made his season debut in Week 12, playing 15 special teams snaps. Then an injury during pregame warmups before the Thanksgiving game led to him missing that game, and he was a healthy scratch for the next two games.

After Campbell seemed to hint at him having a larger defensive role, Moseley again strictly played special teams in Week 16 (14 snaps). Then he didn't play at all in Week 17, and before the regular season finale he landed on the NFI (Non-Football Illness) list, which ended his season barring the Lions making a very deep playoff run.

Moseley has had some horrible injury luck lately, which led to him being rendered a non-entity even when he was briefly healthy this year. The Lions will not sign him a third time.

2. DE Marcus Davenport

The Lions took a flier on Davenport in 2023 free agency, on the idea he would be a suitable running mate for Aidan Hutchinson. While his injury this year (arm/elbow) was fluky and the result of a dirty move by Cardinals' offensive tackle Paris Johnson, the bottom line is he didn't play after Week 3 and he has played in just six games over the last two seasons. He has also played more than 500 snaps just once in his seven NFL seasons.

The Lions generally aren't afraid to take a calculated risk on players who are coming off an injury or with durability concerns, and sometimes those fliers just don't work out (see Moseley). Davenport is easily headed for his fourth team in as many seasons next year.

1. S Ifeatu Melifonwu

To borrow a popular phrase, "hurt guys stay hurt." Injuries have been the No. 1 storyline through Melifonwu's four NFL seasons. This season an ankle/Achilles injury in training camp eventually landed him on IR, and Dan Campbell basically admitted he should have gone on IR sooner.

Then, as he was nearing a return to action, a finger injury landed Melifonwu back on IR before he finally made his season debut in Week 16. A finger injury is easy to lament as something he can play with, but Melifonwu later revealed his finger was dislocated so badly he had to have surgery.

Finally, in the playoff loss to the Commanders. Melifonwu suffered a hamstring injury and was unable to continue. A less than ideal finish to what was not an ideal final year of his rookie contract, to be sure.

Melifonwu has played just 37 of a possible 68 regular season games in his career, and when he played all 17 games in 2023 he was limited to special teams duty for a big chunk of it due to a hand injury.

Melifonwu showed what he can do during a breakout stretch late last season, but if the best ability is availability he has failed big-time there. The Lions won't make much effort to re-sign him.