When it comes to being at the top of the list of ideal candidates for the Detroit Lions, there’s no question that star pass rusher Myles Garrett of the Cleveland Browns and star edge rusher Maxx Crosby of the Las Vegas Raiders are numbers 1 and 2, in the order you want to insert them.

Given the team’s current situation, it’s completely understandable that Lions fans would want general manager Brad Holmes to reach for the fences. The Lions have realistic Super Bowl hopes in 2024 and have lost an elite edge rusher of their own with the devastating injury to Aidan Hutchinson.

If there are two players in this galaxy who can replace what Hutchinson can do on the football field, it’s Garrett and Crosby. Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like either will be traded by the November 5th deadline.

Not only has Crosby and Raiders owner Mark Davis made it clear multiple times that the three-time Pro Bowler will not be assigned this year, reports unfortunately suggest otherwise.

According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the Raiders have no plans to trade Crosby before the deadline. Dianna Russini of The Athletic and Ian Rapoport of NFL Network report the same thing.

Because of the Raiders star’s ties to Michigan, Garrett wasn’t as hot a name as Crosby in Detroit, but if you thought he was an option, don’t get your hopes up.

According to Ian Rapoport, teams that inquired about the star edge rusher were simply told no, and Garrett himself said, “I’ll play here.”

It’s completely understandable why both teams would want to hold on to star edge rushers, as each is the cornerstone of their respective franchises. But it remains unfortunate that such great players find themselves in such terrible situations.

Now back to the Lions: Holmes doesn’t necessarily need to make a blockbuster trade for the Lions to make ends meet, although that would of course be ideal. However, he needs to bring in someone with a proven production history.

Holmes should keep an eye on another Browns edge rusher, Za’Darius Smith, who would be a very strong addition to the Lions’ defense.