Detroit Lions: The painful offseason moves may not be over

The Matthew Stafford trade was just the start

So with an eye on the future, will the Lions be willing to re-sign their top two free agents, Kenny Golladay and Romeo Okwara?

Both could be building blocks for the Lions, but neither one will make Detroit a contender in the next two seasons. This becomes the balancing act Brad Holmes and Dan Campbell need to do.

If they are committed to the future of the team they will most likely not re-sign either one. Sure when asked, Campbell said he would love to keep both players, what coach doesn’t want some play-makers?

Yet with the salary cap expected to drop from last season and no real idea when life will go back to what we consider ‘normal’, without Golladay and Okwara giving the Lions a major home-town discount it seems extremely unlikely that either one will be in Honolulu Blue and Silver next season.

As things stand already, the Lions will be over any decreased salary cap the league decides upon and will have to be releasing players to not only get under the new cap but just to have available money to sign their draft picks.

Signing any big contracts now would only seem to run contrary of what Holmes and Campbell want to do. Even if they backload it to save now and pay more later, that would only play out as an obstacle to Holmes and Campbell’s long-term plans.

So is there a scenario where Golladay and Okwara or even just one of them stays? Yes, but it would take a big risk on the players’ part that their agent will advise against.

Either Golladay or Okwara could gamble on themselves and sign a small one or two year contract with the idea that they will earn a larger contract by their play. Yet I somehow doubt that will be the case.

Every team in the NFL will feel the squeeze of the new salary cap and I don’t think spending will be what it has been in the past, but that being said, both Golladay and Okwara will receive more lucrative offers from other teams that the Lions can’t responsibly make due to their own situation and game plan.

Will Golladay or Okwara be back? It seems unlikely. But the Lions just finished making a difficult decision to grant Matthew Stafford his request to be traded. Considering the goal of building a future contender, more difficult decisions are surely coming.