Just in : Lions sign veteran to a contract extension.

The Detroit Lions, for all intents and purposes, are finished with the heavy lifting of their offseason following the move to sign Jared Goff to a contract extension.

With all the major moves around the league done, Pro Football Focus’ Trevor Sikkema has giving an offseason grade to each team. He was especially impressed with the work the Lions did.

“It was a stellar offseason for the Lions, as they made major additions with minimal subtractions. They no longer have C.J. Gardner-Johnson or Jonah Jackson, but they brought in D.J. Reader, Carlton Davis, Marcus Davenport and Kevin Zeitler in free agency. They then drafted Terrion Arnold, Ennis Rakestraw Jr, Giovanni Manu, Sione Vaki, Mekhi Wingo and Christian Mahogany. They nailed it. Plus, they re-signed Jared Goff, Amon-Ra St. Brown and Penei Sewell. Their Super Bowl window is still open.”

The Lions drew the only A+ grade from Sikkema, while establishing (confirming, really) that their Super Bowl window is open. The entire premise is quite a turnaround.

PFF offseason grade a sign of how far things have come for the Lions

Four years ago the Lions’ front office was led by general manager Bob Quinn, with sure-fire influence from head coach Matt Patricia regarding moves that were made (or not made). There didn’t seem to be any reasons for hope moving forward, with “Quintricia’s” penchant for making equally big mistakes in the draft and free agency. We could list them all, but we don’t really want to revisit that pain. It’s still remarkable to realize Patricia did not make it through three full seasons as the Lions’ head coach.

Brad Holmes’ approach and success rate has of course been notably different. He leans heavily into his background in college scouting, and as a result he has been able to unearth gems with later-round picks and via undrafted rookies. In free agency he has a selectively aggressive approach, prioritizing culture fits over making big splashes.

With the right leadership in place, turnarounds can happen quickly in the NFL. The Lions have become a shining example of that, and PFF thinks they had a flawless offseason as they look to take the next step to a Super Bowl.