The Math Problem Nobody Wants to Hear
We’re less than 100 days away from the start of the Detroit Lions’ 2026 season. Free agency is over, the draft is over, and training camp is just around the corner. But some Lions fans are still not done yet. They need one more thing.
You can guess what that is, right? It’s an edge rusher.
Despite signing D.J. Wonnum and Peyton Turner and drafting Derrick Moore and Tyre West, some fans want something else. Something with a bigger name. Something that feels like a real move.
Za’Darius Smith and the Dopamine Problem
I get it. Signings are fun, and they’re sexy, and you can logic yourself into why they make sense just so you can feel what it feels like when they happen. But these just don’t.
Smith is 34 years old and abruptly retired a few weeks into the season last year. He hadn’t done much at all before that. There’s no guarantee that he even wants to unretire at this point.
Then there’s A.J. Epenesa, who signed a one-year, $5 million deal with the Browns during free agency but was released because he did not pass his physical. That was in March. 31 other teams didn’t sign him until June, when the Eagles took a flier on him, and now there are fans and local media wondering if the Lions are going to regret not signing him.
Like, Epenesa wasn’t the 87th highest graded edge rusher out of 115 edge rushers last year. Read that again.
On top of those two guys, we’re frequently asked about other players that the rest of the league hasn’t signed, like Cam Jordan or Jadeveon Clowney. Those guys are likely to find homes after training camp, but I doubt Detroit is the place they find it.
Where Do These Guys Even Play?
At the end of the day, where are these guys playing? That’s the thing you have to ask yourself.
Let’s do a snap count experiment. Let’s project the snap counts for the Lions’ current edge rushers at the end of the 2026 season:
Hutchinson: 950 snaps (86%)
Wonnum: 700 snaps (64%)
Moore: 525 snaps (48%)
Hassanein: 375 snaps (34%)
Turner: 250 snaps (23%)
West: 100 snaps (9%)
Now try to fit Za’Darius Smith into this. Who are you taking snaps away from?
Not Wonnum, who is your first and second down option when you want to stop the run more than anything. Not Moore, whom you just spent a second-round pick on and want to develop into your forever edge rusher. So now Smith is down to where Hassanein is at 375 snaps.
But you don’t want to take those away from Hassanein because you have high hopes for him to be your big end depth guy. Maybe it’s Turner? Maybe you have Smith take the snaps from your pass rush specialist.
But can you convince Smith, who has never played less than 400 snaps since his rookie season, to come out of retirement to play 250 snaps? Probably not.
Brad Holmes Knows What He’s Doing
The Lions have some needs, but edge rusher isn’t one of them. There’s just no feasibility to it right now. A dopamine hit isn’t going to open up snaps and make it feasible.
If anything, the Lions need more help on the interior of their defensive line. They could use some more help at linebacker as well. But they’re good to go at edge right now.
And honestly? This is what a competent front office looks like. The Lions aren’t going to make a move just because it gets people excited on social media. They’re not going to sign a name just to sign a name when the math doesn’t work.
We sat through decades of GMs making splashy moves that made no sense just to quiet the noise. This isn’t that. This is patience, this is planning, and this is trusting the process even when it doesn’t scratch that immediate itch for another big signing.
Are you ready to trust the math or do you still need that shiny new toy to feel good about this roster? Drop your take below.
