It’s always refreshing to hear a person in a position of power acknowledge when they’ve made a specific mistake. It can be a learning experience and wind up leading to bigger and better future outcomes.
That’s the hope with Lions GM Brad Holmes and his handling of the backup QB position during his two seasons in Detroit. Holmes owned up to not doing a good job in that area in 2022 and won’t make the same mistake again in 2023.
During his press conference at the 2023 NFL Scouting Combine, Holmes addressed the Lions’ glaring need for a No. 2 quarterback behind Jared Goff, who is firmly, unquestionably entrenched as the team’s starting QB. Goff is the only quarterback under contract in Detroit right now.
“I feel like last year we kind of left training camp kind of sliding into home plate trying to fill that backup quarterback role, and that’s on me,” Holmes said Wednesday. “I’ve got to do a better job of making sure that we’re not in that position again, so that is something that we’re going to need to address, whether it’s here in free agency or upcoming in the draft. But that’s something that we’ve had a lot of conversations about, but I’ve got to do a better job of making sure we get that rectified.”
The situation Holmes is referring to was the process of picking up Nate Sudfeld after roster cutdowns when the Lions dumped David Blough and cut Tim Boyle, the two players behind Goff in 2021 and for the summer of ’22.
Detroit dodged the proverbial bullet by having Goff stay healthy throughout the 2022 season. When Goff missed time in 2021 with an injury, Boyle took over and did not play well in three losses, throwing six interceptions against just three touchdowns.
Holmes wouldn’t bite on specific details of how he will address the spot(s) behind Goff, despite several inquisitions. He did not exactly close the door on using an early draft pick to find one, though Holmes was quite noncommital about where he might find the new backup(s).
“So again, we got to make sure that we address everything again, whether it’s free agency and through the draft. But yeah, it could very well be through the draft. Don’t know what’s going to happen in free agency and not sure if some of those guys at the quarterback position in free agency might not be ready to make a decision at that point before the draft.”
