Most Detroit Lions fans think team should be sellers at trade deadline

At the beginning of Week 8, we posted our latest SB Nation Reacts surveys and, in addition to our weekly confidence poll, we asked the question: Should the Detroit Lions make a move at the trade deadline? Fans had three options to choose from, buy, sell, or do nothing.

Those results are in and over 50% of Lions fans said the team should sell.

While the Lions would have to do some salary cap gymnastics in order to make “buying” work, I expected more results to land in the “do nothing” category, which finished with 30% of the vote.

Then again, the Lions are just 1-5 on the season and are in a phase of the rebuild they need to think beyond this season. They have a few valuable assets (which we will be breaking down in detail at POD soon) that teams may be interested in acquiring, and general manager Brad Holmes should always be open to listening to offers.

The one cautionary warning that’s important to remember, is that this time of year, teams are typically selling at a discount. When the Carolina Panthers put their roster up for auction, the rumors were that they were looking for “multiple first round picks” for running back Christian McCaffrey. When they finally traded him to the San Francisco 49ers, it was for three picks (a second-, a third-, and a fourth-round) in the 2023 NFL Draft. Basically, if the Lions do deal any players away, temper expectations for what they may get in return.

In our weekly team confidence survey, the Lions saw a slight decline in overall approval dropping from 69 to 67 percent after their Week 7 loss to the Cowboys. This percentage seems realistic, as the majority of fans are exercising patience, but the decline is also understandable as losses pile up.

Even Lions principal owner Shelia Hamp is frustrated with the results of this season so far, but she has confidence in the leadership of Holmes and coach Dan Campbell. On Friday, Campbell acknowledged Hamp’s impromptu mid-week press conference, and appreciated the vote of confidence, but also explained that the team still needs to maintain an urgency to win.

“We’ve got to win,” Campbell said. “I mean there’s still urgency here. I mean, that’s never changed. We know what kind of business we’re in. I know what kind of business I’m in, and I know that the patience only goes so long.”

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