Nov 20, 2011; Landover, MD, USA; Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones gestures on the field prior to the game against the Washington Redskins at FedEx Field. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-US PRESSWIRE

The restructured contracts of Ndamukong Suh, Matthew Stafford and Nate Burleson aren’t the only forms of salary cap relief the Lions got today. ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports that the Cowboys and Redskins are paying a heavy price for the way they finagled the system during the NFL’s uncapped year in 2010.

Teams were reportedly told not to use the uncapped year as a salary dumping tool. Apparently the Cowboys and Redskins either weren’t creative enough in toeing that line or they just didn’t believe there would be sever consequences. There are certainly consequences and they appear quite severe.

On the eve of free agency, the Cowboys have been stripped of $10 million in cap space while the Redskins will lose an astounding $36 million. Per Schefter, those penalties can be spread over 2012 and 2013 at the teams’ discretion.

Those teams’ loss is the Lions’ (and others’) gain.

All that money goes to 28 other teams — $1.6 million each — except for Saints and Raiders, who don’t get any but don’t lose any.

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 12, 2012

Jerry Jones and Dan Snyder do so much to try to take from the rest of the league and in doing so now have to give back to the league. I’ll take it.

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Nov 6, 2011; Nashville, TN, USA; Tennessee Titans corner back Cortland Finnegan (31) warms up before a game against the Cincinnati Bengals at LP Field. Mandatory Credit: Don McPeak-US PRESSWIRE

Cortland Finnegan’s name has been tossed around by fans as a possible free agency pick up.  Finnegan is a decent cornerback and has ties to Jim Schwartz.  When Schwartz was the defensive coordinator with Tennessee, Finnegan was there too and Finnegan made the Pro Bowl in 2008.  It sounds like Finnegan would be a good fit for Lions to provide a boost to the less-than-stellar secondary.  However, I highly doubt that the Lions will sing the free agent this offseason.

Schwartz was asked about if Finnegan would fit his current system yesterday at the NFL Combine.  Here is an excerpt from what he said:

We haven’t gone all in on any one person. We haven’t also discounted any player or person. Anybody that fits our scheme, anybody that makes sense for us, we’ve done a good job of evaluating those guys. If Cortland ends up being one of those, then we’ll be in that position with him.

Also, National Football Post is reporting that Finnegan and the Titans are far apart on his new contract talks.  How far apart?  About 4 million dollars per season apart.  While it may happen, I wouldn’t put my money on Finnegan re-signing with the Titans.

Cortland Finnegan wants to be paid like a top cornerback in the NFL.  The Lions simply can’t afford that type of contract right now.  We all know that if Cliff Avril is re-signed, it tightens Lions’ budget even more.  If the Lions choose not to keep Avril, don’t expect the Lions to spend the money on signing Finnegan with his high demands.  Instead, the Lions will likely use the money to re-sign Stephen Tulloch.

As good as it sounds to have Finnegan come to Detroit, the salary cap won’t allow it to happen unless Finnegan lowers his demands.

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Clipped from: blogs.kansas.com (share this clip)

Anyway, when Martin was asked about his progress, he talked a little about Jones but also went on an amusing tangent about former Detroit Lions quarterback Scott Mitchell. Here it is:

From blogs.kansas.com (share this quote)

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