Detroit Lions: 4 veterans who could be cut due to money

Detroit Lions safety, Tavon Wilson

The second highest paid safety on the roster, Tavon Wilson has been a good player to plug in in year’s past. He was signed in 2016 and done a nice job starting twenty-six games over the last three years. Each year his playing time has decreased, starting just three games in 2018 but appearing in fifteen.

Wilson’s situation is affected by a steady makeover at his position, including several high draft picks. If we look at the depth chart, there are for sure three guys ahead of him, Tracy Walker, Quandre Diggs, and third-round pick Will Harris considering all safety roles. Wilson is much more of a strong safety than anything else and needs to play closer to the line of scrimmage to maximize his skill set.

In certain packages the Detroit Lions defense will use six defensive backs, often a third safety, so there is room for more than three safeties on the roster. That bodes well for him and the prospect of being kept around for the 2019 season. His main competition for a spot is Miles Killebrew, who has had some moments but has lacked consistency as a situational player.

Wilson stays if he plays really well and looks like the third-best safety who can play in the Lions’ sub-packages. At 29 years old, he could still pull that off. What he can’t have happen is for Will Harris and two other safeties to play similarly to him, Killebrew and Andrew Adams, for example.

If he looks like the best fifth option, near other options that will be cheaper, younger, faster, etc., he will likely be cut to save the club nearly a million dollars in cap space. As a special teams player, he could rank high enough to keep his spot for another year, too. We wouldn’t be surprised either way but we believe he’s in for a tough camp.