5 Burning Questions That Could Define the Detroit Lions’ 2025 Season as Training Camp Looms

The Detroit Lions are no longer a cute underdog story. They’re not the league’s lovable losers or the franchise that can’t get out of its own way. That version of the team is gone, buried under the grit and determination that head coach Dan Campbell and general manager Brad Holmes have instilled over the past few years. What remains is a contender—serious, tested, and hungry for more. Last season’s NFC North crown and deep playoff run weren’t flukes. They were foreshadowings. Now, as training camp looms on the horizon, the Lions enter the 2025 season with expectations that are heavy and urgent. A Super Bowl isn’t just a dream anymore. It’s a demand. But before that vision can come to life, Detroit must first find answers to five pressing, unresolved questions that could make or break its championship bid.

The first and most obvious question revolves around the health and readiness of the roster’s biggest stars. Last season, Detroit was blessed with a relative degree of good fortune on the injury front. But in the NFL, health is as fleeting as momentum, and the question for 2025 is whether the Lions can replicate that fortune or build the depth necessary to withstand the inevitable hits. Can key contributors like Aidan Hutchinson, Penei Sewell, Amon-Ra St. Brown, and Jared Goff make it through another 17-game grind unscathed? Can the younger players stepping into more prominent roles survive their first full season of high-expectation football without breaking down? These aren’t questions rooted in pessimism—they’re born from the reality that durability is often the silent separator between contenders and champions. If Detroit can keep its core healthy, the sky is the limit. If not, the cracks could show earlier than anyone expects.

Second, there’s the matter of defensive improvement, particularly in the secondary. Last season, Detroit’s defense was good enough—but not great. The unit struggled at times to get off the field, gave up big plays through the air, and leaned heavily on its offense to win shootouts. This offseason, the front office moved aggressively to address those shortcomings, adding veteran leadership and draft-day talent to the defensive backfield. But questions remain. Will the cornerback group finally stabilize? Can the new additions seamlessly blend into Aaron Glenn’s system and elevate the unit into top-10 territory? Will the pass rush help take pressure off the back end by getting home more consistently? Detroit doesn’t need an elite defense to win games—but it does need one that can get key stops late in January. Training camp will provide early indications of whether that vision is becoming reality.

The third unresolved question centers around Jared Goff. For all the success he’s had in Detroit, there’s still a lingering narrative about whether he can take the next step—from efficient and smart to outright elite. Goff has proven he can lead a high-powered offense, protect the football, and make smart decisions in crunch time. But the NFL’s elite quarterbacks do more. They elevate the talent around them, they thrive when everything else breaks down, and they make the one or two throws a game that only a handful of humans on earth can make. Is that who Jared Goff will be in 2025? Will he sharpen his deep ball? Will he grow even more comfortable in Ben Johnson’s evolving offense? Or will he plateau, remaining good—but not quite great—when the moment demands brilliance? Goff’s floor is high, but Detroit is now chasing trophies, and trophies often come down to quarterback play. His camp performance, chemistry with weapons, and vocal leadership will all be under the microscope.

Next up is the running game, which may seem like a settled strength but still carries question marks. Jahmyr Gibbs dazzled as a rookie, flashing rare explosiveness and versatility. David Montgomery brought grit, reliability, and red-zone finishing power. Together, they were one of the league’s most productive duos. But defenses now have a year of tape. Can Gibbs take another step and become a true every-down threat? Can Montgomery stay healthy and maintain his punishing style for another full campaign? And perhaps most importantly, can the offensive line—arguably the team’s greatest asset—stay dominant while adapting to potential new combinations due to depth challenges or scheme tweaks? The Lions’ identity is rooted in physicality and running the football. If that foundation holds, it gives everything else room to breathe. But if it wavers, the offense may lose some of its punch and flexibility.

Finally, there’s the intangible but vital question of handling expectations. For the first time in decades, the Detroit Lions are walking into a season not just as playoff hopefuls, but as legitimate Super Bowl contenders. That shift changes everything. It changes how opponents prepare. It changes how national media frames every move. It changes how players carry themselves during the dog days of training camp. Will the locker room remain grounded? Will the hunger still burn as hot now that the spotlight is fully fixed on them? Dan Campbell has proven himself as a master motivator, but even he will be tested by the new emotional terrain his team must navigate. Complacency is the enemy of progress, and success often breeds comfort. Can Detroit stay sharp, stay angry, and stay on edge long enough to meet its enormous potential?

These five questions may not have answers yet, but they soon will. Training camp will offer the first hints, the first glimpses of how the 2025 Detroit Lions are shaping up. Camp is where chemistry forms, where position battles heat up, and where leaders separate from the pack. It’s where the seeds of championships are planted, watered, and—if nurtured correctly—eventually harvested in the chill of postseason football. For Detroit, everything is in place. The roster is talented. The culture is strong. The vision is clear. But none of it matters if these five questions remain unanswered deep into the fall. Resolve them, and this team could make history. Fail to do so, and the season could become a masterclass in what might have been.

For a city that’s waited decades for football relevance, the stakes have never felt more real. And as the rookies report, veterans return, and pads start popping, the journey to answer these defining questions begins—not with a roar, but with a promise. The Detroit Lions are ready to find out if they’re truly built to last, or if the road to glory still has a few more lessons to teach.