Five Cornerbacks Brad Holmes Better Not Even Think About
The cornerback market is wide open. The Terrion Arnold situation ended badly after two seasons that didn’t work out, and now the Lions need a real outside corner who can actually play. Not a feel-good reunion. Not a name you recognize from Twitter threads. Someone who can line up and hold his own.
So naturally, Lions fans are throwing every name they can remember at the wall. Some of them make sense. Some of them absolutely do not.
Here are five cornerbacks the Lions should stay far away from, no matter how many times you see their names pop up on social media.
Marshon Lattimore
Sure, you can connect the dots. Former first-rounder out of New Orleans, played under a scheme similar to what Aaron Glenn ran and what Kelvin Shepherd is running now. Dan Campbell was in New Orleans. The logic writes itself.
Except Lattimore was arrested on Jan. 8 in Ohio on charges of failing to disclose a concealed weapon. It’s not his first arrest either. He was also arrested in 2021 for possession of a handgun.
You would literally be trading one legal issue for another. That is not a move Brad Holmes makes.
And even if you ignore all of that, Lattimore hasn’t been good since he left New Orleans. His time in Washington produced a 56.8 Pro Football Focus grade and a 53.2 Pro Football Focus grade. He only played Weeks 1 through 9 last season and has dealt with injuries in 2024 and 2022 as well. This is not the answer.
Trevon Diggs
Everyone remembers the 11 interceptions in 2021. That was a fun season. Then reality set in.
Diggs fell off hard after that breakout year. The 2022 season was fine. He dealt with injuries in 2023. The 2024 season didn’t look good. Dallas let him go in 2025, Green Bay picked him up, played him in one game, gave him exactly one snap in the wild card game against the Bears, and then let him walk. He’s 28 years old and still unsigned.
Here’s the thing about those 11 interceptions. They masked a lot of coverage problems. Diggs was never actually as good as that stat line suggested. It’s the same thing that happened with the Bears defense last season generating turnovers while being a sieve everywhere else. The ball production looked good on paper, but the tape told a different story.
The Lions don’t need a guy who had one great season years ago. They need someone who can cover right now.
Kenny Moore
This is the one I keep hearing about. Why won’t the Lions just go get Kenny Moore?
Because they don’t need him.
Moore is a slot corner. The Lions already have Roger McCreary handling that spot. They also have Christian Izien, Avonte Maddox, and rookie Keith Abney, who they just drafted specifically to play in the slot.
Moore has been a very good slot corner for most of his career. If the Lions needed a slot corner, I’d be all for it. But they don’t. They need an outside corner. That’s not what Kenny Moore is. Stop bringing up Kenny Moore.
Tre’Davious White
White had maybe two good seasons, and those were a while ago. Since then it’s been a steep decline punctuated by injuries in 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2024. He got traded, went back to Buffalo in 2025, started most of the season, and was just okay. He’s about to turn 32 years old.
The Lions need somebody who can come in and play at a high level right away. If they’re going to sign a free agent at this point, it’s probably going to be a one-year rental. Fine. But that rental should at least be someone who has recently played good football and isn’t held together with duct tape and hope.
White isn’t that guy.
Artie Burns
I genuinely don’t understand why some fans are bringing up Artie Burns. Yes, he was a first-round pick back in the day. 25th overall. He started games in 2017 and has not been a real starter since.
Look at the snap counts. 308 snaps in 2018. Then 67 in 2019. Then 254 in 2021. Then 16 in 2022. Then 232 in 2023. Then 51 in 2024. He didn’t play at all in 2025.
That guy has barely been on the field for years. He is not the answer to anything the Lions need right now.
Brad Holmes Will Find the Right Guy
The Lions have a real need at outside cornerback. Settling for a familiar name with red flags or a guy who doesn’t even play the position you need would be a mistake. Brad Holmes has earned the benefit of the doubt here. He’s not going to panic and sign someone just because fans recognize the name. He’ll find the right fit.
But these five guys? They’re not it.
Which one of these names were you irrationally talking yourself into before reading this? Be honest. Drop it in the comments.
