The Detroit Lions are ready to get back to business during the 2025 NFL season. Detroit had arguably its best regular season in franchise history in 2024, winning 15 games and securing the No. 1 seed in the NFC playoffs. That will be a tough act to follow, even if it did not lead to any postseason success.
Detroit has also faced some adversity this offseason, and the regular season is still one month away. The Lions lost both coordinators to head coaching jobs and saw All-Pro center Frank Ragnow surprisingly retire from the NFL. But that won't stop Dan Campbell's gritty team from getting ready to dominate in 2025. However, it does have fans reevaluating their expectations for the Lions this fall.
The 2025 Detroit Lions are finally starting to take shape now that NFL training camps are up and running. Detroit even has one preseason game under their belts already, which yielded some surprising results.
But are there any surprises coming out of Lions training camp so far? And if so, is it time for Lions fans to start paying attention?
Below we will explore one of the biggest surprises from the Lions' first unofficial depth chart of the 2025 NFL season.
Al-Quadin Muhammad surpassed by unlikely player on unofficial Lions depth chart
Detroit released its first unofficial depth chart ahead of last week's Hall of Fame game against the Chargers.
One surprising detail caught my eye about this first depth chart. Namely, the ranking of Detroit's reserve edge rushers.
Aidan Hutchinson and Marcus Davenport being listed as first stringers is no surprise. However, I was surprised to see Mitchell Agude listed as a second stringer alongside Josh Paschal. Veteran Al-Quadin Muhammad and rookie Ahmed Hassanein were listed as the third stringers.
Agude joined the NFL as an undrafted free agent in 2023, signing with the Dolphins. But he was waived before final roster cuts and signed with the Lions on September 20th. He then spent the rest of the season on the practice squad.
Agude stayed on Detroit's depth chart in 2024, but he was promoted to the active roster on December 21st.
He only played in four games and logged three total tackles. Nothing to get too excited about.
Meanwhile, Al-Quadin Muhammad has much more impressive resume. Both throughout his professional career and during his short time in Detroit.
The 3o-year-old veteran played in nine games for the Lions in 2024, logging 11 total tackles and three sacks.
Muhammad was far from an elite player, but he certainly played better than a practice squad player like Agude. That's why it was so surprising to see that Muhammad was leapfrogged during the early days of Lions training camp.
Could this be a permanent change for the Lions?
Will Mitchell Agude maintain his place on Detroit's depth chart throughout training camp?
It is too early in the preseason to make any bold declarations about a team's depth chart.
For one thing, there's still plenty of time for players to be injured. Nobody is rooting for that of course, but we should address that level of uncertainty. After all, the regular season is still one month away. Anything could happen.
But injuries aside, there are still plenty of training camp practices left for the depth chart to shake itself out.
If Al-Quadin Muhammad truly is a better player than Mitchell Agude, he should be able to prove it on the practice field. Or during one of Detroit's three upcoming preseason games.
There's also the possibility that rookie Ahmed Hassanein eclipses both players on the depth chart. Though that may be more likely to happen during the regular season than in training camp.
Finally, some Lions fans are still holding out hope that Za'Darius Smith will re-sign with Detroit before the regular season. That would certainly shake things up.
Either way, plenty can happen over the next four weeks.
Lions fans should keep their eyes on Detroit's edge rusher rotations during the preseason. It is the best way to understand how Detroit's coaching staff views the position.
