5 Detroit Lions free agents who won’t be back in 2022

4.  FB Jason Cabinda

Cabinda is listed as a fullback, but he doesn’t really have an offensive role and he has more tackles this season on special teams (five) than he does carries (three). He’s not entirely useless, he just doesn’t offer anything of note (or anything that can’t be easily replaced). In Week 13 against the Vikings, possibly due in part to D’Andre Swift being out, he actually tied his season-high for offensive snaps with 13. He also played a season-high rate of special teams snaps in the game (89 percent), for whatever that’s worth.

Fullbacks are a rare breed in today’s NFL, albeit with some (Kyle Juszczyk, C.J. Ham) playing solid roles in their team’s offense. Whether he’d be capable in a bigger role with more offensive touches isn’t clear, but Cabinda has not been that kind of player for the Lions and he’s practically an empty roster spot this year.

Letting Cabinda leave as a free agent in the offseason is an easy decision for the Lions. When he probably doesn’t subsequently land with another team, even if the context of a reset with a new GM and head coach, it will be telling that he made this year’s 53-man roster.