The Jaguars traded K Riley Patterson to the Lions in exchange for a 2026 conditional 7th-round pick. It was originally reported that Patterson would be released, but the Lions evidently didn't want to let him hit the open market. Patterson will presumably compete with K Michael Badgley for the starting job this summer. The winner will be squarely on the fantasy radar in an ascending Detroit offense.

The Lions selected Tennessee QB Hendon Hooker in Round 2 of the 2023 NFL Draft. Hooker transferred from Virginia Tech to Tennessee ahead of the 2021 season. The following two years proved highly productive in HC Josh Heupel’s spread system. Across 14 games, Hooker tallied 6,080 yards, 58 TDs, and only 5 INTs. Boasting plus mobility and ample arm talent, Hooker’s negatives are rather striking. He’ll be a 25-year-old rookie. And he’s coming off a November 19 ACL tear. There’s a chance Hooker plays late in the 2023 season, but his fantasy value is most likely to kick in for 2024. Landing in Round 3 indicates the league doesn't view him as a sure future starter. Going to the Lions means Hooker will have time to move past the ACL tear and develop behind Jared Goff. We're not excited about the dynasty outlook for Hooker, but he has a spot in superflex rookie drafts. Check out Hooker's spot in our dynasty QB rankings.

The Lions chose Iowa TE Sam LaPorta in Round 2 of the 2023 NFL Draft. That’s solid draft capital for an undersized TE. LaPorta measured 23rd percentile in height, 17th percentile in weight, and 16th percentile in arm length for the position at the Scouting Combine. But he makes up for that with top-shelf speed and athleticism for the position: 73rd percentile or higher in vertical, 40 time, 3-cone drill, broad jump, and short shuttle. LaPorta also moves like a WR on tape and dominated receiving work over the past three seasons in a poor Iowa offense. (Check out his full Dynasty Fantasy Football Value report.) Detroit entered the draft with poor TE depth, so LaPorta should factor into the offense early on. Jameson Williams’ suspension only helps boost LaPorta's early-season upside.

The Lions spent the 18th overall pick of the NFL Draft on LB Jack Campbell. The former Iowa LB delivered strong tackle numbers across four seasons, including leading FBS in that category in 2021. He also defensed 15 passes over the past three years. Campbell closed his Hawkeyes career by earning Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year and the Butkus Award (nation's top LB) in 2022. He followed that with an 80th-percentile speed score and 9.98 relative athletic score (out of 10). That's the sixth best among 2,600 LB prospects since 1987. We'll see about Campbell's immediate fit in Detroit, which re-signed LB Alex Anzalone in free agency. But Campbell clearly fits squarely into the Lions' defensive plans going forward. He sat No. 2 in our IDP rookie rankings heading into the draft.

The Lions selected Alabama RB Jahmyr Gibbs with the 14th overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft. The former Georgia Tech speedster took a chance on himself in 2022 by transferring to SEC powerhouse Alabama. The gamble paid off as Gibbs led the Crimson Tide with 44 receptions and ranked 4th on the team in receiving yards (444). Oh, and he’s an excellent runner as well. Some will question how much of a rushing workload he’ll be able to manage at the NFL level given his 5’9, 199-pound frame, but don’t count Gibbs out because of his size. He shows excellent vision at the 2nd and 3rd levels of the field, possesses plenty of speed (4.36-second 40-yard dash time), and has a keen sense of timing cuts against potential tacklers. This move makes it likely that the Lions will move on from D’Andre Swift. Gibbs would then enter a clear change-of-pace role behind David Montgomery while handling a healthy receiving role. Current projections have him for 56 receptions.

Lions WR Jameson Williams is one of five players to be suspended for violating the NFL's gambling policy. Williams, along with Lions WR Stanley Berryhill, have been suspended six games. Lions WR Quintez Cephus, Lions S C.J. Moore, and Commanders DE Shaka Toney are suspended indefinitely. We'll see if Williams appeals this ruling, but fantasy drafters should work under the assumption that he'll miss the first six games of the 2023 season. Williams, of course, appeared in just six games as a rookie last year after tearing an ACL in January of 2022. This suspension will make him tough to roster in standard redraft fantasy leagues and just a late-round option in best ball. Williams' absence leaves Amon-Ra St. Brown, Marvin Jones, Josh Reynolds, and Kalif Raymond as Detroit's top 4 WRs. Jones and Reynolds pick up a bit more fantasy appeal with this news.

Update: The Lions released WR Quintez Cephus and S C.J. Moore.

The Lions signed WR Marvin Jones to a 1-year, $3 million deal. It's a reunion after Jones spent 2016-2020 in Detroit. He averaged 859 yards and 7.2 TDs across those 5 seasons but is coming off a disappointing 46-529-3 line in Jacksonville this past year. Jones ranked 79th in yards per route run and 87th in Pro Football Focus receiving grade among 96 qualifying WRs. The 33-year-old will duke it out with Josh Reynolds and Kalif Raymond for snaps behind Amon-Ra St. Brown and Jameson Williams in Detroit. Jones might provide a few spike weeks for best-ball squads if he wins the #3 WR job. But he's unlikely to be a reliable option in lineup-setting fantasy leagues.

The Lions and RB David Montgomery reached an agreement on a three-year, $18 million contract (with $11 million guaranteed) late on Tuesday evening. The long-time Bear will be moving across the NFC North and running behind a Lions offensive line that ranked 7th in Football Outsiders' adjusted line yards in 2022. Montgomery is more than capable of shouldering a sizeable workload as well, as he's handled 200+ carries in each of his four professional seasons to date. A logical conclusion to draw from this signing is that free agent RB Jamaal Williams is unlikely to return to the Lions at this point. We'll keep an eye out for news regarding where he lands. Where this situation gets dicey is how it potentially affects RB D'Andre Swift, who posted a career-low in touches (147) in 2022 after battling through yet another season of nagging injuries. Couple this Montgomery contract with a subpar injury history, and we may be looking at a significant dynasty value loss for a former NFL second round pick in Swift. He's already starting to slip down our dynasty RB rankings.

The Lions are bringing LB Alex Anzalone back on a three-year, $18.75 million deal, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport. That's particularly noteworthy money for Anzalone, who played each of the past two seasons for Detroit on one-year pacts. He got just $1.75 million in 2021 and then $2.5 million last year. But Anzalone increased his playing time each season vs. what he got across four seasons in New Orleans. That included playing 95.1% of the snaps across 17 games last year. Anzalone also saw boosts in his Pro Football Focus grading across categories and cracked the top 30 LBs in fantasy points. Expect him to remain the Lions' best bet for full playing time at the position, heading into his age-29 season. There's still room for 2022 rookie Malcolm Rodriguez to grow his role, though, vs. where Rodriguez finished the season.

Alabama RB Jahmyr Gibbs measured in at 5’9, 199 pounds at the NFL Combine on Sunday. Though he’s slightly shorter than he was listed in college (5'11), the Crimson Tide product wowed in drills. Gibbs recorded the 2nd-fastest official 40-yard dash time (4.36) with a stellar 1.52-second 10-yard split. Sub-200-pound RBs may give fantasy managers some pause, but Gibbs’ speed and agility displayed in both running and pass-catching on Sunday shouldn’t impact his draft stock. We’re still looking at him as a top-2 back in this 2023 class.

Lions OC Ben Johnson is passing on HC opportunities elsewhere to stick with Detroit for 2023, according to multiple reports. Johnson elected to skip an in-person interview with the Panthers this week, after already talking with the franchise by teleconference. Johnson was viewed as the favorite for the Carolina job and has also interviewed with the Colts and Texans. He instead sticks with an offense that jumped from 25th in scoring and 22nd in yards in 2021 to 5th and 4th, respectively, this season. Detroit also leaped from 29th in Football Outsiders' offensive DVOA to 5th. Johnson's continued presence is undoubtedly good news for QB Jared Goff and other key Lions offensive pieces.

According to Dave Burkett of the Detroit Free Press, Lions HC Dan Campbell "all but confirmed" Monday that QB Jared Goff will remain the starter in 2023. "He's really a perfect fit for what we do and what we ask," Campbell said. The Rams, of course, paid Detroit draft picks (including 2 first-rounders) to swap Matthew Stafford for Goff 2 offseasons ago. Goff didn't do anything impressive across 14 games in his 1st year with the Lions. But he finished this season throwing 324 consecutive passes without an INT. Goff also finished 15th among QBs in fantasy points per game (depending on your format). He has 2 more years on his contract, though each comes with salaries of more than $30 million vs. dead-cap totals of $10 million and then $5 million if he were to get cut, according to Spotrac. Detroit also holds the 6th overall pick in the upcoming NFL Draft, thanks to the Rams -- along with their own selection at #18. So although Goff looks most likely to open next season at the helm, it's worth noting that Campbell stopped short of actually confirming that the 2023 job belongs to Goff.

Lions QB Jared Goff threw 3 TD passes on 21-of-29 passing for 255 yards in Sunday's lopsided win over the Bears. Goff found TE Brock Wright for a pair of scores, hitting RB D'Andre Swift for the other. He spread targets around, with 10 different Lions catching a pass but none exceeding 5 targets. WR Amon-Ra St. Brown led the team with 5 looks, catching 4 for a team-high 62 yards. It was St. Brown's lowest catch total since Week 9 and fewest targets of any full game this season. Detroit closes the regular season against the Packers, a rematch of a game that finished just 15-9 (in Detroit's favor) in Week 9.

Bears RB David Montgomery carried just 6 times for 24 yards in Sunday's loss to the Lions. He added 2 catches for 12 targets, with Chicago completing only 7 passes all game. It was a particularly disappointing performance for the whole offense a week after Detroit allowed 527 total yards to the Panthers. RB Khalil Herbert also factored in for 5-31 rushing. Chicago faces Minnesota in Week 18, a matchup that afforded Montgomery just 12-20-1 rushing in Week 5, but also 4 catches for 62 yards.

Lions RB Justin Jackson (hip) is inactive for today’s game vs. the Bears. Craig Reynolds is active as Detroit’s #3 RB, but Jackson’s absence could be a slight boost for RB D’Andre Swift.

Lions QB Jared Goff threw for 355 yards and 3 TDs in Saturday's loss to Carolina. He hit TE Shane Zylstra for all 3 scores. WR Amon-Ra St. Brown, as usual, led the team with 13 targets and 7 catches, tallying 76 yards. WR D.J. Chark added 4 receptions for 108 on 5 targets. No other Lion caught more than 2 balls. Detroit gets a weak Chicago defense in Week 17, and won't have weather concerns back home in the dome.

Lions TE Shane Zylstra caught all 3 of QB Jared Goff's TD passes in Saturday's loss at Carolina. Zylstra caught 5 balls for 26 yards among 6 targets, which ranked 2nd on the team. Those 5 receptions doubled Zylstra's season total, so we wouldn't go getting excited about the 26-year-old for Week 17.

Bears RB David Montgomery scored a TD rushing and another receiving in Sunday's loss to the Eagles. He took 12 carries for 53 yards (4.4 per rush) and caught all 3 of his targets for 38 yards. Montgomery next faces a Bills defense that got run over by Raheem Mostert on Saturday night. then comes a rematch with the Lions, who only allowed Montgomery 44 total yards on 9 carries and 1 catch in Week 10. The team expects Khalil Herbert to come off IR in Week 16, which will affect Montgomery's outlook.

Lions QB Jared Goff threw for 252 yards and a TD in Sunday's win over the Jets. It's not the kind of outing that's going to win fantasy football matchups, but it marked Goff's 6th straight game without a turnover -- despite a strong defense on the other side. That's enough to put Goff in fantasy consideration against a weaker Carolina defense in Week 16, and certainly for a home date with Chicago in Week 17.

Lions EDGE Aidan Hutchinson (illness) is active for today's game against the Jets. Use him as planned in your IDP lineups.