The Lions would be wise to give two often injured players one more shot

Earlier this week, we learned that due to a rare cap quirk, both Levi Onwuzurike and Josh Paschal will remain under contract with the Detroit Lions in 2026 and won't become free agents. The reactions to this story have been mixed. Both players missed the entire 2025 season with injuries.

The Lions would be wise to give Onwuzurike and Paschal one more shot in 2026

Look, I get it. You don't want players who have been hurt taking up roster spots. This did not work out with Marcus Davenport or Emmanuel Mosely. But this situation is wildly different. Because, for starters, we're talking about two guys who are going to account for a combined $3 million. This is such a small cap hit that the team won't even notice it.

The other thing is that I think Lions fans may view this situation as something that would prevent Brad Holmes from acquiring players in free agency or the draft. Make no mistake, these guys are not starting for the Detroit Lions in 2026. Giving them another shot doesn't even mean they make the 53-man roster or the practice squad. Giving them another shot means they're on the 90-man roster at training camp, and they have to prove they can be healthy and have an impact on the team. They've at least earned that.

The second part is that these guys are pretty good players when healthy. Let's start with Onwzurike. I know that he hasn't been as healthy as Paschal, but in 2024, he had a solid season with 47 pressures and three sacks. He showed to be a good run stopper as well. The problem is that he tore his ACL at the end of the year.

Paschal has played a lot more since the Lions took him in the second round of the 2022 NFL Draft. I'm not really sure it's totally fair to call him often injured. He has not lived up to his draft status. That is more than fair to say, but he has been a good depth piece who can come off the bench and make plays in the run game. That's really all they need from him.

If you put a gun to my head right now and asked me to predict the outcome on this, it's probably that neither makes the 53-man roster and maybe one of them makes the practice squad. Again, we're talking about two guys near the league minimum in pay. It's not going to cost the Lions much at all to see if they can get anything out of them.