Goff has spent the last three seasons in Detroit and has been a key part of the franchise's turnaround, maintaining a 78:29 TD:INT during his tenure with the team. He's set to hit free agency for the second time in his career after the 2024 campaign and a future with the Lions makes sense for both parties. Though negotiations have just begun, Goff is likely to get a deal in the range of $40 million per year, comparable to the likes of Matthew Stafford and Derek Carr.

Bates caught the attention of the other pro football team in Michigan with his spring performance, which included six field goals of 50-plus yards, including a 64-yard conversion. The Lions' incumbent kicker is veteran Michael Badgley, who re-signed with Detroit on a one-year deal this offseason after a late-season and postseason stretch with the team in 2023. Badgley has converted only five of 13 kicks of 50 yards or longer in his NFL career, so Bates could push him off the roster if he continues displaying long-distance prowess during camp and preseason.

A serious knee injury in his final college game and a suspension have conspired to limit Williams to playing in 18 out of a possible 34 regular-season games in his first two NFL seasons. Patra therefore sees 2024 as a pivotal season for the 2022 first-round pick, particularly in the area of becoming a much more complete and precise route runner after being used mostly as a deep threat thus far in his career.

Brooks makes a convincing case for the veteran signal-caller, who'll enter 2024 with consecutive 4,000-yard seasons and a 59:19 TD:INT ratio in that pair of campaigns. Brooks notes the fact offensive coordinator Ben Johnson chose to remain in Detroit could be the key to Goff having a career-best year, given the quarterback's comfort level in the system and the bevy of playmakers around him.

Moseley was set to start for Detroit last season but suffered a significant knee injury after just two snaps. He should be ready to return during training camp, though the team has since added Terrion Arnold in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft. That leaves Moseley's role unclear heading into the preseason, though his return should provide valuable depth in the Lions' secondary if nothing else.

Arnold surprisingly fell in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft and was selected 24th overall by Detroit. Despite initial reports suggesting he wouldn't be rushed into a significant role, it appears the rookie is close to earning a starting job anyway. Though he may have the inside track, Arnold's grip on the job is hardly secure as Amik Robertson and Emmanuel Moseley will also be competing to start at outside corner.

Detroit has already spent big this offseason to lock up Jared Goff, Amon-Ra St. Brown and Penei Sewell on extensions, but the team may not be done. McNeill is heading into the final year of his rookie contract after being a third-round pick in 2021, and he recorded a career-high 5.0 sacks in only 13 regular-season games last year. With former Bengals nose tackle DJ Reader commanding attention next to him, there should be even more space in which McNeill can operate in 2024, setting him up for a breakout campaign.

McNeill battled a knee injury that held him out for four games in 2023, but he still showed hints of a breakout. The most obvious sign was a career-best five sacks, though he was also regularly disruptive to opposing run games and graded out as one of the best interior defensive line players, per Pro Football Focus. McNeill is also a candidate for a significant extension, which would likely come following the 2024 campaign.

The Lions, who needed to address their secondary this offseason, moved up to take Arnold with 24th overall pick out of Alabama in April's draft. Reuter sees the ball-hawking Arnold, who recorded five interceptions in 2023 and defensed 20 passes overall in his last two college campaigns, as an ideal pairing with veteran trade acquisition Carlton Davis. Moreover, he predicts multiple interceptions and pass breakups for Arnold as quarterbacks try to target him during his first season.

Wide receiver coach Antwaan Randle El gave Williams the goal of improving his strength this offseason, and the third-year wide receiver delivered. The change in his stature was particularly notable in his legs, which has helped him get in and out of breaks more effectively and avoid getting knocked off course by defenders. The Lions are relying upon Williams to contribute significantly to the offense in 2024 after the departure of Josh Reynolds.

Bates has been impressive kicking in the UFL, where his first kick was a game-winning 64-yard field goal. He has made three kicks of 60-plus yards and 17 of 22 field-goal attempts overall. Badgley made all four of his field-goal attempts in four games with the Lions in 2023 but missed two of 15 PAT tries. Bates' bigger leg could give the newcomer the advantage in a kicking competition that may not be decided until after the preseason.

"We need to feel like by the end of camp this guy can run this offense," head coach Dan Campbell said Wednesday. "He's somebody that we know we can play the game a certain way. We know he's going to be able to process the information. He's going to get us in the right play and he's going to keep the ship afloat. That's it. We don't need him to come in and win a game. You just want to feel like, 'all right.' So obviously, he's going to need to take another step up." Hooker missed his rookie season last year while recovering from knee surgery, and his accuracy in particular still needs work. Should the Tennessee product not be deemed ready, Nate Sudfeld would be in line to open the campaign as Goff's backup.

Green was running with the first-team offense in Detroit's first practice open to the media in OTAs, but the 2023 seventh-round draft pick didn't participate in the second such practice, giving Donovan Peoples-Jones a chance to move up with the starters. Johnson has talked up both Green and Peoples-Jones, though Detroit still has Jameson Williams and Kalif Raymond vying for reps on the outside as well while the team's top receiver, Amon-Ra St. Brown, operates out of the slot.

It makes sense that Hooker still looks raw, as he played in a gimmicky Tennessee offense in college and subsequently missed almost his entire rookie season in 2023 due to a torn ACL. Detroit is hoping the 2023 third-round draft pick will develop quickly now that he's getting reps in an NFL offseason program for the first time, but the Lions could opt to bring in a veteran backup to Jared Goff if they don't think Hooker's far enough along to fill in adequately in the event Goff misses time due to an injury.

Perhaps because Anzalone didn't truly come into his own until his sixth pro season, he's not generally mentioned when the top tier of linebackers are discussed. However, Blair notes Anzalone is valued highly within the organization after registering back-to-back 120-plus tackle seasons and logging a career high of three sacks in 2023.

The 18th overall pick in the 2023 Draft, Campbell mostly played an off-ball role as a rookie and recorded 95 tackles over 17 games. Veteran Alex Anzalone has handled duties in the middle over the last two seasons and produced 125 tackles or more in each campaign, but Detroit would seem to prefer having the younger and more athletic Campbell in that role in 2024, potentially setting the Iowa product up for a breakout season.

With Josh Reynolds departing in free agency, Williams is the Lions' clear second wide receiver behind Amon-Ra St. Brown. Pouncy notes that Williams wasn't celebrating after big catches during drills Thursday, and the third-year pro spent time between reps with St. Brown. After being sidelined for most of his rookie year while recovering from a torn ACL and missing the first four games of 2023 due to a gambling-related suspension, Williams finished last season with 24 catches for 354 yards and two touchdowns across 12 regular-season games.

Per Pouncy, Hooker had good touch on his deep balls, including a pass down the right sideline to wide receiver Daurice Fountain that drew plenty of attention from teammates and coaches. Hooker missed most of the 2023 season while recovering from a torn ACL he sustained in 2022 at Tennessee. He was taken off the reserve/non-football injury list ahead of Week 16 against the Vikings, but he merely served as the emergency quarterback behind Jared Goff and Teddy Bridgewater for the rest of the season. Hooker is set to serve as the primary backup to Goff in 2024.

Speedster Jameson Williams is the popular choice to absorb most of the 64 targets Reynolds saw last season, but Locker points out that Raymond has a more similar skill set to Reynolds as a wide receiver capable of moving the chains on short and intermediate routes when defenses focus on taking away Amon-Ra St. Brown. Raymond, who missed last season's playoffs due to a knee injury, saw 44 targets in 2023, down from 64 in 2022 and a career-high 71 in 2021, which was his first season in Detroit.

Goff has already stated he's highly motivated to prove doubters wrong after the Lions were criticized for overpaying on his massive extension. The veteran signal-caller will have a chance to begin that quest against the Rams team that jettisoned him to Detroit in favor of Matthew Stafford, and Goff will be looking to build on a satisfying 24-23 victory over Los Angeles during the NFC Wild Card Game in January, when he threw for 277 yards and a touchdown.

A third-round pick in 2022, Joseph suffered a hip injury early last season that kept him off the field in Weeks 3 and 4, but he was able to return to the lineup and play through the issue for the rest of the campaign. The Illinois product has racked up 165 tackles and eight interceptions over his first 32 NFL games.

The Lions have had a busy offseason, signing tackle Penei Sewell and wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown to multi-year extensions. Holmes expressed his desire for a deal with Goff to be done already, but noted that "things just kind of take a while, especially with the quarterback market. But I do have faith that it's [going to] get done." Goff helped the Lions capture their first division title in 30 years, and he finished the regular season with 4,575 yards and 30 touchdowns, second and fourth best in the NFL, respectively.

Williams was drafted in the first round by the Lions in 2022 but has played just 18 games thus far, missing most of his rookie season while recovering from a torn ACL before sitting out a chunk of the 2023 campaign due to a suspension for violating the league's gambling policy. Williams played about two-thirds of snaps during the Lions' playoff run last season, and Barnwell believes the speedy wide receiver will see the field even more often in 2024.

Arnold surprisingly slipped to the 24th overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, though the draft capital the Lions used on him still suggests he's a strong candidate to start immediately. Detroit's secondary was a weak spot in 2023, though the team had aggressively revamped the position group this offseason by trading for Carlton Davis and signing Amik Robertson even before the draft. Arnold will almost certainly find his way onto the field a lot as a rookie, but the Lions' offseason moves have allowed them to not put too much pressure on him early on.

Goff and the team have had extension talks throughout the offseason, but a deal isn't imminent. St. Brown and Sewell are much closer to the cream of the crop at their respective positions than Goff is, so Detroit may be reluctant to shell out the long-term money necessary to extend the quarterback, given his up-and-down career to this point. Goff's 59:19 TD:INT over the last two seasons is almost identical to the 60:19 TD:INT he posted with the Rams in 2017 and 2018, but he had an ugly 61:37 TD:INT during the three seasons in between.

Goff has spent the last three seasons in Detroit and has been a key part of the franchise's turnaround, maintaining a 78:29 TD:INT during his tenure with the team. He's set to hit free agency for the second time in his career after the 2024 campaign and a future with the Lions makes sense for both parties. Though negotiations have just begun, Goff is likely to get a deal in the range of $40 million per year, comparable to the likes of Matthew Stafford and Derek Carr.