2020 Detroit Lions season

The 2020 season is the Detroit Lions' 91st in the National Football League and their third under head coach Matt Patricia. They will look to improve on their 3–12–1 record from the previous season and reach the playoffs for the first time since 2016.

2020 Detroit Lions season
Head coach	Matt Patricia
General manager	Bob Quinn
Owner	Sheila Ford Hamp
Home field	Ford Field
Uniform

Offseason

Coaching changes

• On December 31, 2019, the Lions fired strength coach Harold Nash, special-teams coordinator John Bonamego, defensive backs coach Brian Stewart, linebackers coach Al Golden, tight ends coach Chris White and assistant strength coach Rodney Hill.[1]
• On January 2, 2020, defensive coordinator Paul Pasqualoni retired and offensive line coach Jeff Davidson took an "indefinite leave" from coaching.[2]
• On January 13, the Lions hired Cory Undlin as defensive coordinator.[3]

Additions

Date	Player	Position	Previous team	Contract	Source
February 3	Joshua Garnett	Guard	San Francisco 49ers	1 year / $1.3 million	[4]
March 16	Halapoulivaati Vaitai	Tackle	Philadelphia Eagles	5 years / $45 million	[5]
	Jamie Collins	Linebacker	New England Patriots	3 years / $30 million	[6]
	Nick Williams	Defensive tackle	Chicago Bears	2 years / $10 million	[7]
March 17	Chase Daniel	Quarterback	Chicago Bears	3 years / $13.05 million	[8]
March 18	Danny Shelton	Defensive Tackle	New England Patriots	2 years / $8 million	[9]
	Desmond Trufant	Cornerback	Atlanta Falcons	2 years / $21 million	[10]
March 19	Jayron Kearse	Safety	Minnesota Vikings	1 year / $2 million	[11]
March 20	Tony McRae	Cornerback	Cincinnati Bengals	1 year / $1.5 million	[12]
March 27	Reggie Ragland	Linebacker	Kansas City Chiefs	1 year / $1.0475 million	[13]
	Elijah Lee	Linebacker	San Francisco 49ers	1 year / $835,000
March 29	Geronimo Allison	Wide receiver	Green Bay Packers	1 year / $1.0475 million	[14]
April 2	Darryl Roberts	Cornerback	New York Jets	1 year / $2 million	[15]

Departures

Date	Player	Position	Note	New Team	Source
February 25	Damon Harrison	Defensive tackle	Released		[16]
March 13	Rick Wagner	Tackle	Released	Green Bay Packers	[17]
March 16	Graham Glasgow	Guard	UFA	Denver Broncos	[18]
	Jeff Driskel	Quarterback	UFA	Denver Broncos	[19]
March 17	A. J. Howard	Safety	Released		[20]
	Kyle Sloter	Quarterback	Released
March 18	Devon Kennard	Linebacker	Released	Arizona Cardinals	[21]
March 19	A'Shawn Robinson	Defensive Tackle	UFA	Los Angeles Rams	[22]
March 24	Sam Martin	Punter	UFA	Denver Broncos	[23]
April 15	Steve Longa	Linebacker	Released		[24]
April 15	Paul Butler	Tight End	Released
April 15	Jonathan Durhart	Wide Receiver	Released
April 27	Tra Carson	Running Back	Released		[25]
April 27	James Fisher	Long Snapper	Released
April 27	Casey Tucker	Guard	Released
April 27	Matt Wile	Punter	Released

Re-signings

Date	Player	Position	Contract	Source
February 22	Danny Amendola	Wide Receiver	1 year / $5 million	[26]
March 14	Don Muhlbach	Long Snapper	1 year / $1.135 million	[27]
March 21	Miles Killebrew	Linebacker	1 year / $2 million	[28]
March 24	Oday Aboushi	Guard	1 year / $1.1875 million	[29]
April 14	Kenny Wiggins	Guard	1 year / –	[30]
April 21	Mike Ford	Cornerback		[31]
April 21	Dee Virgin	Cornerback

Trades

• On March 18, the Lions acquired safety Duron Harmon and a seventh-round pick from the New England Patriots in exchange for a fifth-round pick in the 2020 NFL Draft.[32]
• On March 19, the Lions traded cornerback Darius Slay to the Philadelphia Eagles in exchange for a third-round pick and a fifth-round pick in the 2020 NFL Draft.[33]

Draft

Main article: 2020 NFL Draft

2020 Detroit Lions Draft

Round	Selection	Player	Position	College	Notes	Source
1	3	Jeff Okudah	CB	Ohio State		[34]
2	35	D'Andre Swift	RB	Georgia		[35]
3	67	Julian Okwara	DE	Notre Dame		[36]
	75	Jonah Jackson	G	Ohio State	from Indianapolis	[37]
4	121	Logan Stenberg	G	Kentucky	from Las Vegas	[38]
5	166	Quintez Cephus	WR	Wisconsin		[39]
	172	Jason Huntley	RB	New Mexico State	from Las Vegas	[40]
6	197	John Penisini	DT	Utah	from Indianapolis	[41]
7	235	Jashon Cornell	DT	Ohio State	from New England	[42]

Notes

• The Indianapolis Colts traded a third and sixth-round selection (75th and 197th) to Detroit in exchange for a third, fifth, and sixth-round selection (85th, 149th, 182nd).[37]
• The Lions traded their fourth-round selection (109th) to the Las Vegas Raiders in exchange for a fourth and fifth-round selection (121st and 172nd).[43]
• On August 23, 2018, the Lions traded a conditional seventh-round selection to the San Francisco 49ers in exchange for linebacker Eli Harold.[44]
• On October 22, 2019, the Lions traded safety Quandre Diggs and a seventh-round pick in the 2021 NFL Draft to the Seattle Seahawks in exchange for a fifth-round pick in the 2020 NFL Draft.[45]

Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic

On July 29, the Lions placed five players, including wide receiver Kenny Golladay and tight end T. J. Hockenson, on the COVID-19 reserve list.[46] The following day, two more players, including cornerback Justin Coleman, were placed on the list.[47] On August 1, the Lions placed quarterback Matthew Stafford on the list.[48] Three days later, however, Stafford's test was confirmed to be a false positive and he was removed from the list.[49]

Staff

Detroit Lions staff

	Front office Owner – Sheila Ford Hamp Vice chairpeople – William Clay Ford Jr., Martha Ford Morse and Elizabeth Ford Kontulis Team president – Rod Wood Executive vice president and general manager – Bob Quinn Vice president of football administration – Mike Disner Vice president of player personnel – Kyle O'Brien Director of player personnel – Lance Newmark Director of pro scouting – Rob Lohman Senior personnel executive – Jimmy Raye III Head coaches Head coach – Matt Patricia Offensive coaches Offensive coordinator – Darrell Bevell Quarterbacks – Sean Ryan Running backs – Kyle Caskey Wide receivers – Robert Prince Tight ends – Ben Johnson Offensive line – Hank Fraley Assistant offensive line – Billy Yates			Defensive coaches Defensive coordinator – Cory Undlin Defensive line – Bo Davis Linebackers – Tyrone McKenzie Defensive backs – Steve Gregory Defensive assistant - Tony Carter Defensive quality control – Stephen Thomas Special teams coaches Special teams coordinator – Brayden Coombs Assistant special teams – Marquice Williams WCF Minority Coaching Assistantship WCF Minority Coaching Assistantship/Offense - Leon Washington WCF Minority Coaching Assistantship/Defense- Ty Warren Strength and conditioning Strength & power coordinator – Josh Schuler → Coaching staff → Management → More NFL staffs
AFC East BUF MIA NE NYJ North BAL CIN CLE PIT South HOU IND JAX TEN West DEN KC LV LAC NFC East DAL NYG PHI WAS North CHI DET GB MIN South ATL CAR NO TB West ARI LAR SF SEA

Current roster

Detroit Lions roster

Quarterbacks 10 David Blough  4 Chase Daniel  9 Matthew Stafford Running backs 46 Nick Bawden FB 36 Wes Hills 41 Jason Huntley 33 Kerryon Johnson 31 Ty Johnson 43 Bo Scarbrough 47 Luke Sellers FB  6 D'Andre Swift Wide receivers 80 Danny Amendola 13 Victor Bolden Jr. 87 Quintez Cephus 12 Geremy Davis 19 Kenny Golladay 17 Marvin Hall 11 Marvin Jones 85 Tom Kennedy Tight ends 86 Hunter Bryant 88 T. J. Hockenson 83 Jesse James 89 Isaac Nauta 84 Matt Sokol		Offensive linemen 76 Oday Aboushi G 74 Caleb Benenoch G 63 Beau Benzschawel G 65 Tyrell Crosby T 66 Joe Dahl G 68 Taylor Decker T 73 Jonah Jackson G 67 Matt Nelson T 77 Frank Ragnow C 70 Dan Skipper T 61 Logan Stenberg G 72 Halapoulivaati Vaitai T 79 Kenny Wiggins G Defensive linemen 96 Jashon Cornell DT 90 Trey Flowers DE 93 Da'Shawn Hand DE 75 Frank Herron DT 45 Julian Okwara DE 95 Romeo Okwara DE 91 John Penisini DT 78 Olive Sagapolu DT 71 Danny Shelton DT 92 Kevin Strong DT 97 Nick Williams DT		Linebackers 53 Jason Cabinda OLB 58 Jamie Collins OLB 40 Jarrad Davis MLB 52 Christian Jones OLB 55 Elijah Lee OLB 57 Anthony Pittman OLB 59 Reggie Ragland MLB 44 Jalen Reeves-Maybin OLB 51 Jahlani Tavai MLB Defensive backs 39 Jamal Agnew CB 27 Justin Coleman CB 42 Jalen Elliott S 38 Mike Ford CB 26 Duron Harmon S 25 Will Harris SS 32 Jayron Kearse FS 35 Miles Killebrew SS 34 Tony McRae CB 49 C. J. Moore FS  1 Jeff Okudah CB 24 Amani Oruwariye CB 47 Bobby Price FS 29 Darryl Roberts CB 23 Desmond Trufant CB 30 Dee Virgin CB 21 Tracy Walker FS Special teams  3 Jack Fox P 48 Don Muhlbach LS  5 Matt Prater K  2 Arryn Siposs P 49 Steven Wirtel LS				Active/Reserve lists 18 Geronimo Allison WR (Opt-out) 99 John Atkins DT (Opt-out) 60 Russell Bodine C (Opt-out) 94 Austin Bryant DE (Active/PUP) Rookies in italics Roster updated August 14, 2020 Depth chart • Transactions 80 active, 3 inactive → AFC rosters → NFC rosters
AFC East BUF MIA NE NYJ North BAL CIN CLE PIT South HOU IND JAX TEN West DEN KC LV LAC NFC East DAL NYG PHI WAS North CHI DET GB MIN South ATL CAR NO TB West ARI LAR SF SEA

Preseason cancellation

The Lions' preseason schedule was announced on May 7.[50] However, on July 27, in a letter to fans, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell officially announced the cancellation of the entire preseason due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[51]

Regular season

Schedule

The Lions' 2020 schedule was announced on May 7, and is subject to change, pending developments in the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.[50][51]

Week	Date	Time (ET)	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	TV	Recap
1	September 13	1:00 p.m.	Chicago Bears			Ford Field	Fox
2	September 20	1:00 p.m.	at Green Bay Packers			Lambeau Field	Fox
3	September 27	4:25 p.m.	at Arizona Cardinals			State Farm Stadium	Fox
4	October 4	1:00 p.m.	New Orleans Saints			Ford Field	Fox
5	Bye
6	October 18	1:00 p.m.	at Jacksonville Jaguars			TIAA Bank Field	Fox
7	October 25	1:00 p.m.	at Atlanta Falcons			Mercedes-Benz Stadium	Fox
8	November 1	1:00 p.m.	Indianapolis Colts			Ford Field	CBS
9	November 8	1:00 p.m.	at Minnesota Vikings			U.S. Bank Stadium	CBS
10	November 15	1:00 p.m.	Washington Football Team			Ford Field	Fox
11	November 22	1:00 p.m.	at Carolina Panthers			Bank of America Stadium	Fox
12	November 26	12:30 p.m.	Houston Texans			Ford Field	CBS
13	December 6	1:00 p.m.	at Chicago Bears			Soldier Field	Fox
14	December 13	1:00 p.m.	Green Bay Packers			Ford Field	Fox
15	December 19 or 20	TBD	at Tennessee Titans			Nissan Stadium	TBD
16	December 26 or 27	TBD	Tampa Bay Buccaneers			Ford Field	TBD
17	January 3	1:00 p.m.	Minnesota Vikings			Ford Field	Fox

Notes

• Intra-division opponents are in bold text.
• Networks and times from Weeks 6–17 are subject to change as a result of flexible scheduling.
• As the result of Saturday flexible scheduling during Weeks 15 and 16, the date, kickoff, and network for those two games will be finalized at a later date—by no later than four weeks prior to each game day.[52]

References

1. Birkett, Dave (December 31, 2019). "Detroit Lions fire strength coach, special-teams coordinator and 4 other assistant coaches". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved December 31, 2019.
2. Birkett, Dave (January 2, 2020). "Paul Pasqualoni out as Lions defensive coordinator, Jeff Davidson steps down as OL coach". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved January 2, 2020.
3. "Lions hire Cory Undlin as defensive coordinator". Detroit Lions. January 13, 2020. Retrieved January 13, 2020.
4. Bergman, Jeremy (February 3, 2020). "Lions sign former first-round guard Joshua Garnett". NFL.com. Retrieved February 3, 2020.
5. Rogers, Justin (March 18, 2020). "Breaking down contract for new Lions offensive lineman Halapoulivaati Vaitai". The Detroit News. Retrieved March 18, 2020.
6. Birkett, Dave (March 17, 2020). "Detroit Lions release LB Devon Kennard to make room for Jamie Collins". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved March 17, 2020.
7. Birkett, Dave (March 17, 2020). "Detroit Lions get more help for defense, agree to terms with DT Nicholas Williams". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved March 17, 2020.
8. Crawford, Kirkland (March 17, 2020). "New Detroit Lions QB Chase Daniel's biggest moment in NFL came at Ford Field". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved March 17, 2020.
9. "Lions agree to 2-year deal with Danny Shelton, trade for Duron Harmon". ESPN.com. March 17, 2020. Retrieved March 17, 2020.
10. Scott, Jelani (March 18, 2020). "Lions ink Desmond Trufant to two-year, $21M deal". NFL.com. Retrieved March 18, 2020.
11. Birkett, Dave (March 19, 2020). "Detroit Lions land more help for secondary, add ex-Minnesota Vikings S Jayron Kearse". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved March 19, 2020.
12. Rogers, Justin (March 20, 2020). "Lions aren't done yet, reach agreement with CB Tony McRae". The Detroit News. Retrieved March 20, 2020.
13. "Lions agree to terms with free agent LBs Elijah Lee & Reggie Ragland". Detroit Lions. March 27, 2020. Retrieved March 27, 2020.
14. Maya, Adam (March 29, 2020). "Roundup: Lions, Geronimo Allison agree to 1-year deal". NFL.com. Retrieved March 29, 2020.
15. Patra, Kevin (April 2, 2020). "Roundup: Lions sign ex-Jets CB Darryl Roberts". NFL.com. Retrieved April 2, 2020.
16. Twentyman, Tim (February 25, 2020). "Lions release defensive tackle Damon Harrison Sr". Detroit Lions. Retrieved February 25, 2020.
17. Birkett, Dave (March 16, 2020). "Rick Wagner, just cut by Detroit Lions, signs with Green Bay Packers". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved March 16, 2020.
18. Birkett, Dave (March 16, 2020). "Graham Glasgow bolts for four-year, $44 million deal with Denver Broncos". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved March 16, 2020.
19. DiLalla, Aric (March 17, 2020). "Media reports: Broncos agree to terms with QB Jeff Driskel". Denver Broncos. Retrieved March 17, 2020.
20. "Lions Release S AJ Howard And QB Kyle Sloter". 971theticket.com. March 17, 2020. Retrieved March 17, 2020.
21. "Lions release LB Devon Kennard". Detroit Lions. March 17, 2020. Retrieved March 17, 2020.
22. Klein, Gary (March 18, 2020). "Rams agree to terms with defensive tackle A'Shawn Robinson". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved March 18, 2020.
23. Raven, Benjamin (March 24, 2020). "Report: Lions officially in market for new punter after Sam Martin signs with Denver Broncos". MLive. Retrieved May 2, 2020.
24. Schlitt, Erik (April 15, 2020). "Lions release LB Steve Longa, WR Jon Duhart, and TE Paul Butler". USA Today. Retrieved May 2, 2020.
25. Rogers, Justin (April 27, 2020). "With influx of rookies coming in, Detroit Lions release four players". The Detroit News. Retrieved May 2, 2020.
26. Maya, Adam (February 22, 2020). "Lions re-sign WR Danny Amendola for 1-year deal". NFL.com. Retrieved February 22, 2020.
27. "Lions re-sign LS Don Muhlbach". Detroit Lions. March 14, 2020. Retrieved March 14, 2020.
28. "Lions agree to terms with safety Miles Killebrew". Detroit Lions. March 20, 2020. Retrieved March 20, 2020.
29. "Lions agree to terms with OL Oday Aboushi". Detroit Lions. March 24, 2020. Retrieved March 24, 2020.
30. "Lions agree to terms with OL Kenny Wiggins". Detroit Lions. April 14, 2020. Retrieved April 14, 2020.
31. "Lions re-sign exclusive rights free agents CB Mike Ford and CB Dee Virgin". Detroit Lions. April 21, 2020. Retrieved May 2, 2020.
32. "Lions acquire S Duron Harmon via trade with New England Patriots". Detroit Lions. March 18, 2020. Retrieved March 18, 2020.
33. Patra, Kevin (March 19, 2020). "Eagles trading for Darius Slay; CB gets extension". NFL.com. Retrieved March 19, 2020.
34. Twentyman, Tim (April 23, 2020). "Lions draft cornerback Jeff Okudah". Detroit Lions. Retrieved April 24, 2020.
35. Twentyman, Tim (April 24, 2020). "Lions draft running back D'Andre Swift". Detroit Lions. Retrieved April 24, 2020.
36. Raven, Benjamin (April 24, 2020). "2020 NFL draft: Detroit Lions select Notre Dame EDGE Julian Okwara with first of 2 third-round picks". MLive. Retrieved April 25, 2020.
37. Meinke, Kyle (April 24, 2020). "2020 NFL draft: Detroit Lions trade up for Ohio State G Jonah Jackson in third round". MLive. Retrieved April 25, 2020.
38. Rogers, Justin (April 25, 2020). "Lions' fourth-round pick Logan Stenberg cites 'nastiness' as one of his best traits". The Detroit News. Retrieved April 25, 2020.
39. Twentyman, Tim (April 25, 2020). "Lions draft wide receiver Quintez Cephus". Detroit Lions. Retrieved April 25, 2020.
40. Twentyman, Tim (April 25, 2020). "Lions draft running back Jason Huntley". Detroit Lions. Retrieved April 25, 2020.
41. Twentyman, Tim (April 25, 2020). "Lions draft defensive tackle John Penisini". Detroit Lions. Retrieved April 25, 2020.
42. Maakaron, John (April 25, 2020). "DT Jashon Cornell is Latest Pick for Detroit Lions in Seventh Round". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved April 25, 2020.
43. "Raiders trade picks with Detroit Lions on Day 3 of 2020 NFL Draft". Raiders.com. April 25, 2020. Retrieved April 25, 2020.
44. Sessler, Marc (August 23, 2018). "trade! Lions acquire LB Eli Harold from 49ers". NFL.com.
45. "Lions trade S Quandre Diggs to Seattle Seahawks". Detroit Lions. October 22, 2019. Retrieved October 22, 2019.
46. Rogers, Justin (July 29, 2020). "Kenny Golladay, T.J. Hockenson among Lions placed on COVID reserve list". The Detroit News. Retrieved July 30, 2020.
47. Rothstein, Michael (July 30, 2020). "Justin Coleman, Isaac Nauta latest Lions added to reserve/COVID-19 list". ESPN.com. Retrieved July 31, 2020.
48. Birkett, Dave (August 1, 2020). "Detroit Lions QB Matthew Stafford placed on COVID-19 list". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved August 1, 2020.
49. Rogers, Justin (August 4, 2020). "Lions: Matthew Stafford had false-positive test for COVID-19, is not infected". The Detroit News. Retrieved August 5, 2020.
50. "2020 Detroit Lions Schedule: Complete schedule and matchup information for 2020 NFL Season". Detroit Lions. May 7, 2020. Retrieved July 30, 2020.
51. Shook, Nick (July 27, 2020). "Roger Goodell writes letter to NFL fans as training camps start across U.S." NFL.com. Retrieved July 27, 2020.
52. "2020 NFL Schedule Announced" (PDF). NFL Communications. May 7, 2020. Retrieved May 7, 2020.

External links

• Official website