Two Lions Rivals Chased Quenton Nelson Before Seattle Did
The Seattle Seahawks acquired eight-time Pro Bowl guard Quenton Nelson from the Indianapolis Colts on Tuesday for a third-round pick in the 2027 NFL Draft and a fifth-round pick in the 2028 NFL Draft. The Quenton Nelson trade dropped him in the NFC West, and for the Detroit Lions, that is the best part of it.
After the deal went through, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reported a detail that matters more in Detroit than it does anywhere else. “The Packers, Bears and Eagles were among teams that showed varying levels of interest in Quenton Nelson, per source. His market was strong,” Fowler wrote.
Two of those three teams play the Lions twice a year. Nelson is 30 and in the final year of a four-year, $80 million extension he signed in 2022, which is why a third and a fifth was enough to get him.
What the Quenton Nelson Trade Would Have Fixed in Green Bay
Green Bay had the clearest need on Fowler’s list, and the Lions are part of the reason. Starting center Sean Rhyan hurt his ankle in the Packers’ 20-17 loss in Detroit in Week 7, and backup Jacob Monk went down with a quad injury after replacing him, which pushed John Williams into the middle of the line to finish the game. Monk is now on injured reserve.
Green Bay’s injury report Monday had Rhyan sitting out with the ankle, guard Aaron Banks limited with a knee and toe problem, and guard-tackle Travis Glover sitting out with a knee. Three bodies up front, all on one side of the ball, all before a game against Carolina. Nelson would have settled that line for the rest of the season.
Chicago’s Interest Is the Part That Does Not Add Up
The Bears are the other half of the story, and their interest is harder to explain. Chicago starts Joe Thuney at left guard and Jonah Jackson at right guard. Thuney won the inaugural Protector of the Year award and was first-team All-Pro for a third straight season in 2025. Jackson started all 17 games. That is not a roster shopping for a guard out of need, which is exactly why the call Fowler reported is worth noticing. A team that already has its guards set was still willing to spend on one.
Minnesota was not on Fowler’s list, but the Vikings have Green Bay’s problem. Left guard Donovan Jackson tore a meniscus and is out for the regular season, head coach Kevin O’Connell announced earlier this month. The whole division is short on interior offensive line help, and the one obvious answer just went to Seattle.
Brad Holmes Still Has to Make a Move
Lions general manager Brad Holmes will be working the phones before the Nov. 10 trade deadline, and Detroit has already been tied to players on the Colts roster as Indianapolis sells. Standing pat is not an option with the Bears, Packers and Vikings all expected to add.
The position is not a guard. CBS Sports noted on Oct. 20 that Detroit ranked last in the NFL in pass defense at 297.4 yards allowed per game, and the secondary never replaced Terrion Arnold after the team released him this offseason. A cornerback is the move.
For now, the Lions do not have to worry about Green Bay or Chicago adding an eight-time Pro Bowler to a line Detroit sees twice a year. That is the lucky part. The rest is on Holmes, because the hole on Detroit’s roster is bigger than the one Green Bay was trying to patch.
Source: sports.yahoo.com — article syndicated from the publisher’s feed; all rights remain with the original publisher.