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It is starting to become clear that Detroit is no longer the premier destination for high-end free agents.

Detroit failed to acquire any of the big-name players available this offseason and will have to find alternatives to improve.

As the offseason progresses, the team will explore its trade options while gaining a better understanding of the talent level in the system. Detroit may find itself better suited to promote from within rather than seek help from outside the organization.

There does appear to be a pattern developing come summer time in recent years. One big mistake in the offseason can affect more than just the upcoming season.

Over the last five years Detroit has made at least one glaring mistake in the offseason, foreshadowing future troubles over the course of the subsequent 82-game campaign.

Those mistakes range from limiting cap and roster space to overindulging in unnecessary free-agent acquisitions. Whatever the case may be, such mistakes have led to more bad than good and contributed to the most obvious of tribulations.

These are Detroit’s biggest offseason mistakes over the past five years prior to this summer.