With the conclusion of the 2024 NFL regular season, the Detroit Lions have their 2025 opponents finalized. The schedule won’t be revealed until the offseason, with the reveal traditionally coming in May, but the Lions now know their opponents.

In addition to playing each of the three other teams in the NFC twice apiece, the Lions will play against every team in the AFC North and NFC East. Rounding out their schedule will be the Kansas City Chiefs, Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Los Angeles Rams, all of whom finished in first place in their respective divisions.

The divisions that the NFC North line up with rotate each year, as they last played the entirety of the AFC North and NFC East in the 2021 season. In the 2024 season, the NFC North drew the AFC South and NFC West.

The Lions will play several of the league’s best teams in 2025, including traveling to both Baltimore and Kansas City to take on Lamar Jackson and Patrick Mahomes, respectively.

Detroit has nine opponents that reached the postseason in 2024 and will play a total of 11 games against teams that made the playoffs.

The Lions clinched the NFC North with a victory over the Minnesota Vikings in Week 18, as they defeated them 31-9 to earn the division crown and the No. 1 seed in the playoffs.

MORE: Jahmyr Gibbs Gashes Vikings, Lions Earn No. 1 Seed After 31-9 Win

Lions 2025 opponents

Home: Green Bay Packers, Minnesota Vikings, Chicago Bears, New York Giants, Dallas Cowboys, Pittsburgh Steelers, Cleveland Browns, Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Away: Green Bay Packers, Minnesota Vikings, Chicago Bears, Washington Commanders, Philadelphia Eagles, Cincinnati Bengals, Baltimore Ravens, Los Angeles Rams, Kansas City Chiefs.

Perhaps no group around the league is viewed more favorably compared to where they were last year than the Detroit Tigers.

That tends to happen when teams go on a deep playoff run, but considering the Tigers embarked on a youth movement after becoming sellers ahead of the trade deadline, the future looks bright for this organization.

Detroit could have been aggressive this winter if they wanted to add established players to their roster, but so far, that has not been the approach the front office has taken.

Alex Bregman is still being pursued, something that would make them clear favorites in their division if they are able to land the star third baseman, but until something gets done on that front, the Tigers have to hope their youngsters take the next steps in their careers and build upon what took place in 2024.

Manager A.J. Hinch knows this.

Since he was hired ahead of the 2021 season, it’s been his job to take this Tigers team to the next level each time they achieve a certain step on their journey to come out of this rebuild.

That was accomplished last year, following up their second place finish in the AL Central with an eight-game improvement that earned them a spot in the Wild Card round.

Hinch isn’t ready to pat themselves on the back, though.

He had a strong statement about what they are looking to accomplish next season and beyond.

“We can’t repeat last season. We’re not trying to repeat last season. We’re trying to be better. We want to win the AL Central. We want to put ourselves in a better position moving forward. You can’t do that by looking backwards,” the skipper said per Jason Beck of MLB.com.

With that in mind, the desire to land Bregman should be there from the front office.

Jace Jung is certainly an intriguing prospect, and someone who could turn out to be a star, but if the mindset of those in the clubhouse is to take that next step again and go for a division title, then giving them the best possible roster has to be something that gets done.

But even if Hinch isn’t reunited with his former player, that doesn’t mean the goals change.

“I want our guys to take ownership of the fact that we are going to be looked at a little bit different. We have a lot of things we need to do to get better. The test is going to come as the attention grows towards the season. [Last season] was a fun run and a fun time and a memorable playoff chase for us, and now we start over again,” he added.

There’s still time left before the upcoming season begins for Detroit to make a splash, but if they don’t, the mentality to compete is being laid out by their manager.

The Detroit Tigers head into the upcoming season with a couple of acquisitions on one-year deals who they hope will make a huge difference.

Alex Cobb was the first major domino to fall for the Tigers in free agency, and the goal is for the 13-year veteran to be a major piece of the starting rotation. But in signing Cobb, reactions from Detroit fans were mostly not great with age and durability concerns at the forefront of their minds.

The Tigers would go on to make a move that was fairly well received when they signed New York Yankees two-time All-Star second baseman Gleyber Torres on a one-year deal worth $15 million.

Torres struggled by his standards in 2024, but he’s still just 28 years old and brings some serious right-handed power to the lineup along with plate discipline. Being an experienced veteran who can help to lead a young team is also a plus.

The slugger is betting on himself by signing a short-term deal with the hope he can cash in if he has a great year for Detroit.

One way or another, the contract he signs likely ends with him leaving the Tigers after just one season.

In a recent article naming Detroit players he expects gone within the calendar year of 2025, Jovan Alford of FanSided named Torres as one of them.

“If things work out with Torres, Detroit should try to re-sign him to a multi-year deal. But in case the Tigers’ season goes south, Detroit has a good trade chip to utilize.”

There’s a big difference between “should” and “will”, so while yes Detroit “should” try to sign Torres to a long-term deal if he produces at the level they hope he can, it certainly does not mean they will.

This can go a few different ways for the slugger and the Tigers.

In one scenario, he has an outstanding season reminiscent of the first two years of his career. With Torres still two seasons away from 30 and not turning 29 until next winter, he would still be well within the range to receive a massive long-term deal from someone, and if it creeps close to the nine-figure range, don’t count on it being Detroit.

Alford also points out an interesting possibility in that if the season looks reminiscent for the team as it did in the first half of last year when they became deadline sellers, there’s a good chance Torres would be a desired trade piece for a contending team, a move the Tigers would gladly make if they aren’t in contention.

It will be interesting to see how things play out, but most signs are pointing to Torres being a one-and-done player in Detroit.