Detroit Lions approval poll: Brad Holmes (Pre-free agency 2022)

The next month and a half for Detroit Lions general manager Brad Holmes will be the most important of his professional life. Later on Monday, the legal tampering period of free agency opens up and the Lions have money to spend. Detroit is expected to be far more active than they were last year, as Holmes has said himself that this phase in the rebuild is the “player acquisition phase.”

Then just over a month later, Holmes will be tasked with using the Lions’ hefty draft capital in acquiring the talent of the future for this franchise. He’s very much at a fork in the road of his career, and the decisions he and the rest of the Lions' front office make over this time will have huge implications on the direction of this franchise.

But before we plunge into those seas, let’s take one last inventory on Holmes’ popularity in Detroit.

In his first year, Holmes went relatively untested. Though he was originally given the heavy task of trading away the team’s franchise quarterback, he took a very cautious approach to free agency (by design). His first draft class is too early to fully assess, but there are some seriously promising returns.

As for his moves this year, there’s not yet a lot to assess. He did bring back Josh Reynolds on a very team-friendly deal, but the fates of Tracy Walker, Charles Harris, and other Lions free agents are still in the balance.

Since he was hired, Holmes has retained a fairly high approval rating in Detroit, despite a slip when the team went into late November without a win to their name. Here’s a look at his approval ratings throughout the past 12 months.

March 2021 (pre-free agency): 97 percent approval
May 2021 (post-draft): 98 percent
September 2021 (post-cuts): 90 percent
October 2021: 87 percent
November 2021: 79 percent
December 2021: 97 percent
January 2022: 97 percent

So before Holmes makes some of the most important decisions in his career, let’s see where Lions fans stand on the current general manager of the team. Vote in the poll below on whether you approve of the job Holmes is doing thus far.

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