{"id":268991,"date":"2026-03-12T20:15:08","date_gmt":"2026-03-13T00:15:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/?p=268991"},"modified":"2026-03-12T20:06:10","modified_gmt":"2026-03-13T00:06:10","slug":"detroit-lions-are-losing-breakout-edge-rusher","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2026\/03\/12\/detroit-lions-are-losing-breakout-edge-rusher\/","title":{"rendered":"Detroit Lions Are Losing Breakout Edge Rusher"},"content":{"rendered":"

The hits keep on coming for the Detroit Lions. The Lions have been hemorrhaging players since free agency started on Monday. Detroit has already lost Alex Anzalone, Amik Robertson, Roy Lopez, Kalif Raymond, and Kyle Allen to other teams. Thursday saw more players depart. After linebacker and special teams ace Grant Stuard signed with the Los Angeles Rams,<\/a> the Detroit Lions are losing breakout edge rusher Al-Quadin Muhammad to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Muhammad was included in my article detailing five free agents the Lions should keep.<\/a> They chose not to retain Muhammad, leaving yet another massive hole in Detroit\u2019s defense.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Lions
Detroit Lions defensive end Aidan Hutchinson (97) celebrates a sack against the Pittsburgh Steelers with linebacker Al-Quadin Muhammad (96) during the first half at Ford Field in Detroit on Sunday, Dec. 21, 2025.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Muhammad Had A Breakout Year In 2025<\/span><\/h2>\n

After only being a depth player in his NFL career, Muhammad enjoyed a breakout year for the Lions in 2025. Once Marcus Davenport was injured (again), Muhammad was thrust into a big role. He responded with a career season. Notching 11 sacks, Muhammad finally gave Detroit a dependable edge opposite Aidan Hutchinson<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Muhammad made his mark almost immediately. In Week 3, Muhammad recorded 2.5 sacks in Detroit\u2019s dramatic 38-30 road victory against the Baltimore Ravens.<\/a> That showing, on MNF, put the entire NFL on notice. Muhammad would add two more multi-sack games over the course of the season. On his way to finishing 11th in the league in sacks, everyone knew the veteran would be earning a raise in 2026.<\/span><\/p>\n

New Deal Is An Excellent Value<\/span><\/h2>\n

Spotrac estimated his next contract to be two years and around $16 million.<\/a> For a Lions team with limited cap space, that figure would have been tough to meet. Surprisingly, Muhammad\u2019s deal with Tampa Bay<\/a> is for only one season and is worth up to $6 million.<\/span><\/p>\n

At that price, it is absolutely mind-boggling that GM Brad Holmes let Muhammad get away. Players who can sack the quarterback are invaluable in the NFL. The Lions had one in Muhammad. Letting him walk at such a reasonable price is shocking.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Where Do Lions Go From Here?<\/span><\/h2>\n

Detroit already had a big need at edge rusher. Even if they viewed Muhammad only as a pass-rushing specialist, keeping him would have given the Lions options in free agency and the draft. With Muhammad gone, and nobody added to their edge group, the Lions are backed into a corner. They absolutely need to sign a productive edge still on the market. Players like Joey Bosa and Cam Jordan are still available. Even if both are on the downside of their illustrious careers, the Lions should sign one. They also need depth at the position. Hutchinson and Ahmed Hassenein are the only edge rushers currently on the roster.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Lions will hopefully draft an edge with one of their top picks in April. Teams that expect to compete for a Super Bowl can\u2019t go into a season with such a glaring need. Holmes, though, has a habit of going against the grain during the draft. It is not guaranteed he will take an edge, especially if he has other players rated higher. Outsiders have been screaming for Holmes to make a major investment at EDGE for years, to no avail.<\/span><\/p>\n

Now with Muhammad gone, Detroit\u2019s need for an edge rusher has never been higher. Will Holmes finally attack the position and sign or draft someone of note? Or will he continue to add only low-cost options and hope for the best? His decision will have a great impact on the Lions\u2019 2026 season. Edge rusher is one of the most important positions on the field. Right now, Detroit is severely lacking quality pass rushers. If offenses only have to worry about Hutchinson, the Lions\u2019 defense becomes much easier to play against.<\/span><\/p>\n

I know it\u2019s still early, but free agency has made the Lions a worse football team. With several needs already, the players leaving have only added to the list. It is still too early, but the concern over the Lions\u2019 offseason is valid and growing. Can Holmes right the ship before it is too late?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Al-Quadin Muhammad is leaving Detroit for Tampa Bay. How will the Detroit Lions replace a productive edge rusher?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5722,"featured_media":269003,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":true,"sfio_embed_code":"<\/smartframe-embed>","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[24,1647,36,6431],"tags":[34065,33883,8938,9473,32514],"class_list":["post-268991","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-lions","category-nfl-draft","category-nfl-news","category-nfl-teams","tag-2026-nfl-draft-edge-rushers","tag-2026-nfl-free-agency","tag-aidan-hutchinson","tag-al-quadin-muhammad","tag-brad-holmes"],"modified_by":"Sue Levine","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/268991","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5722"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=268991"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/268991\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":269006,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/268991\/revisions\/269006"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/269003"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=268991"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=268991"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=268991"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}