The Lions are prepared to do whatever is necessary to make room for draft picks, not every player is safe

We're just a few weeks away from the 2025 NFL Draft, and the Detroit Lions have found themselves in a minor pickle. They have 73 players on the roster and only 17 spots left. That makes seven draft picks and 10 undrafted free agents. 

Now that's if the Lions stick with the picks they currently have. If they trade up and send some of those assets away, then it's not a big deal. If the Lions decide to trade down and pick up more picks, well then you're going to run into a situation where more roster spots are filled. 

On top of that, Lions GM Brad Holmes said on Monday that the Lions have been keeping in contact with some free agents in recent weeks, and those deals could possibly go through too. Now you're shrinking your margin even more. 

We asked Holmes if the smaller margin will affect how the Lions approach the draft and UDFA's.

"We're going to operate in the draft just like how we normally operate. And we're going to prepare, we've done a lot of work already, and we're just going to go by the feel of how the board and the picks are."

Holmes talked about not really knowing until you're in the moment if you're going to make a move to go up or a move to go down. He used last year as an example when he said that on Day three, he woke up feeling like the Lions needed to be aggressive, and they were with two trade-ups. 

If the Lions walk out with a bunch of guys and are over their 90-man roster, does that mean the Lions will release some guys currently on their roster? Maybe guys they feel good about, or even guys they haven't seen play for them yet? 

"That could happen. And that's just, that's part of it." Holmes said. You want to do as much before the draft, to make you feel cozy enough to be in a position to not have to reach for need or anything like that. But that is part of it. You might trade up and sacrifice a lot of picks. You don't have a lot of the picks that you originally had, and it's like, oh, it works out great. Or, I don't know how many guys that we really wanted after the draft that you're going to be able to get, so that's part of the risk. And, you know, I would say risk is what's left after you think you thought of everything, and that unfortunately could happen." 

We'll see what happens in the draft in a few weeks, and if the Lions look to sign some more free agents. But there could be a chance that they have to make some room if they walk out of the draft with a good deal of players. They're prepared to make those moves if they have to.