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Dan Campbell: Detroit Lions in no rush to trade for DE as they evaluate internal options

Trade winds have started to blow around the NFL, but Detroit Lions coach Dan Campbell said the rash of recent deals hasn't made his team antsy to complete one.

"I don’t feel like we’re pressured to, ‘Oh man, everybody’s moving, we’ve got to move,’ " Campbell said Wednesday. "I don’t feel that."

The Lions are shopping for pass rush help after losing defensive end Aidan Hutchinson to a broken leg in their Week 6 win over the Dallas Cowboys.

They won their first game without Hutchinson last week, 31-29 over the Minnesota Vikings, but struggled to generate a consistent four-man pass rush in the game and resorted to using more linebacker blitzes to pressure Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold.

Chicago Bears running back Khalil Herbert (24) is taken down by Tennessee Titans linebacker Harold Landry III (58) and linebacker Ernest Jones IV (53) at Soldier Field in Chicago, Ill., Sunday, Sept. 8, 2024.
Chicago Bears running back Khalil Herbert (24) is taken down by Tennessee Titans linebacker Harold Landry III (58) and linebacker Ernest Jones IV (53) at Soldier Field in Chicago, Ill., Sunday, Sept. 8, 2024.

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The Lions had four sacks in the game, but one came from Josh Paschal as an unblocked rusher, two came from linebackers Malcolm Rodriguez and Jack Campbell when Darnold stepped up in the pocket to buy time, and Trevor Nowaske delivered the last on Minnesota's final play from scrimmage, a Hail Mary.

The Lions host a Tennessee Titans team this week that completed two trades Wednesday. The Titans sent receiver DeAndre Hopkins to the Kansas City Chiefs for a conditional fourth-round pick and traded linebacker Ernest Jones to the Seattle Seahawks for linebacker Jerome Baker and a swap of draft picks.

Last week, the Las Vegas Raiders traded receiver Davante Adams to the New York Jets, the Cleveland Browns traded receiver Amari Cooper to the Buffalo Bills and the Seahawks and Minnesota Vikings made more minor moves with the Jacksonville Jaguars and Houston Texans.

"I just found out about Jones when I was walking out of walkthrough (for my news conference)," Campbell said. "I had no idea that they’re working out a trade for him, I knew about Hopkins. But no, we don’t feel swayed by that. Like I say, we are not going to be in a hurry. If it’s right, it’s right, and we’re going to do our homework, do our due diligence, and if it makes sense, it makes sense, if it doesn’t, it doesn’t."

Campbell reiterated in his weekly radio interview Tuesday on WXYT-FM (97.1) that the Lions are looking for a "complementary piece that helps that D-line" in the trade market. He said general manager Brad Holmes brings him into the evaluation process on potential trade acquisitions when talks "get serious."

Asked in his radio interview if Holmes had asked him to check out any players yet, Campbell said, "Yeah, he’s asked me to check something out, a couple of things."

On Wednesday, Campbell said the Lions want to see how three of their internal pass rush options — James Houston, Isaiah Thomas and Al-Quadin Muhammad — perform before re-evaluating their trade options.

Houston had eight sacks in seven games as a rookie in 2022 but has played sparingly this season after missing most of last year with a broken leg. The Lions signed Thomas off the Cincinnati Bengals' practice squad last week. Muhammad had six sacks with the Indianapolis Colts in 2021 but has not played since joining the Lions' practice squad earlier this month.

"We’re going to give them a shot," Campbell said. "So in combination with all those guys that we’ve got, let’s give it a go, let’s give it a look, that’s what they’re here for.”

Injury update

The Lions were down two defensive linemen at practice Wednesday: Paschal, who left the Vikings game twice with an injury but returned to finish the game, sat out because of an illness, and Levi Onwuzurike got a rest day.

Offensive linemen Taylor Decker, Graham Glasgow and Frank Ragnow also got veteran rest days.

Detroit Lions cornerback Emmanuel Moseley talks with the media after practice at the Detroit Lions practice facility in Allen Park on Friday, July 26, 2024
Detroit Lions cornerback Emmanuel Moseley talks with the media after practice at the Detroit Lions practice facility in Allen Park on Friday, July 26, 2024

Campbell said cornerback Emmanuel Moseley started traveling with the team for the Vikings game and expects to return this season from the torn pectoral muscle he suffered in training camp. Moseley tore the ACL in his right knee in his second snap as a Lion last fall.

"He wanted to go (to Minnesota) and we were all for it," Campbell said. "I can’t tell you how close (he is to returning), but yeah, we’re going to get him back. It’s just a matter of, when is that? He’s doing pretty good. He’s doing pretty good, he’s really progressed nicely and he’s healed up well.”

Dave Birkett's new book, "Detroit Lions: An Illustrated Timeline," is available for purchase online and at local book stores. Contact him at dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on X and Instagram at @davebirkett.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Lions not urgent to make deal despite trade market heating up