Dear Brad,

You built this team to pursue a Super Bowl. It is time to apply that same ambition to fixing its secondary.

Thursday’s 41–31 loss to Buffalo exposed a defense that could not consistently cover, contain or get itself off the field. Josh Allen threw three touchdown passes. The Bills finished with 446 yards. Detroit surrendered 27 points before halftime.

And this came four days after the Lions needed overtime to survive New Orleans, 31–30.

That is 71 points allowed in two games. Two games do not settle a season, but they can expose a problem that demands action.

You may love the players in that secondary. You may believe in their preparation, character and potential.

The standard still has to be whether they can help this team win a championship. Right now, the results are nowhere close.

You knew this secondary would be shorthanded

The personnel losses were known before opening day.

Terrion Arnold was gone, eventually signing with Seattle in August. Brian Branch and Kerby Joseph were unavailable to begin the season. Those were three significant pieces of last year’s secondary that Detroit could not count on for the opener.

Their absences required a contingency plan strong enough to withstand an actual NFL schedule.

The question was never whether replacing them would be easy. The question was whether you had done enough to give Dan Campbell and Kelvin Sheppard a workable defense while those holes remained.

Through two games, my answer is no.

Yes, there is hope surrounding Branch and Joseph’s eventual returns. Getting them back would matter enormously. But their recovery cannot serve as the entire plan, and neither player’s return fills every need at cornerback.

Confidence cannot outweigh what is happening on the field

Fans can respect your evaluations and still challenge them.

When confidence in this group keeps meeting receivers running free for touchdowns, another reassurance starts to feel dismissive. People watching these games do not need to be persuaded that the players care. They need to see a secondary capable of doing its job.

Campbell’s own assessment Thursday was unmistakable:

“We had a couple of busts — we had more than a couple of busts — on the back end for touchdowns in the pass game that really hurt us.”

That should trouble the entire organization, including the person responsible for assembling the roster.

You do not call the coverages. You do not make the checks after the offense breaks the huddle. But you selected the personnel expected to execute those responsibilities.

Accountability cannot stop with the players and coaches when the roster itself deserves scrutiny.

A trade will not fix everything. It can still be necessary.

Buffalo also rushed for 203 yards. Campbell identified wrong-gap fits and failures to contain Allen. Acquiring a defensive back will not automatically repair those mistakes.

The coaches have work to do. The players have work to do.

So do you.

Jared Goff threw for 327 yards and four touchdowns without an interception Thursday. Detroit’s offense had its own early failures, but a team with championship ambitions needs a defense that can give that kind of production a chance.

You have already created financial flexibility. Reuters reported that the St. Brown and Sewell restructures freed roughly $35.7 million.

That money has competing uses, and future obligations matter. Available cap space also does not manufacture a willing trade partner. Still, those resources give you options at a moment when the defense needs help.

Use them to pursue a player who changes the lineup.

Pay for a meaningful upgrade

There is already a reported avenue worth pursuing.

The Lions have reportedly checked on Joey Porter Jr., with Pittsburgh seeking a premium draft pick. That does not mean a deal is available at a sensible price, or that Porter must be the answer.

It does mean this discussion can move beyond hoping the current group improves.

Keep calling. Explore other teams. Find a defensive back who can start, handle a substantial assignment and improve the choices available to your coaches.

A meaningful acquisition will probably cost something you would prefer to keep. That is the decision facing a team trying to win now.

Draft picks are valuable. So are the games being played while you hold them.

The cost of waiting belongs in the calculation, too. A new player needs time to learn the defense and build the communication that Campbell says is missing.

The championship standard applies to the front office

You deserve credit for helping raise expectations in Detroit. That work is precisely why another season spent explaining an undermanned defense is unacceptable.

Nobody can promise that one trade delivers a Super Bowl. I do not believe this team can reach that goal if the secondary continues playing at this level, and I do not believe waiting for internal improvement is a sufficient response.

The Lions are 1–1. There is time to change the direction of this season. There is also enough evidence to stop treating the need for help as theoretical.

Brad, backing your players and upgrading your roster are compatible responsibilities. You can value the people in that room while acknowledging that the room needs more talent.

Make the calls. Be willing to pay a serious price for a serious improvement.

Enough is enough.

Make a damn trade.