5 players who could be cut by the Detroit Lions this offseason

2. DE Michael Brockers

Holmes went back to his Rams past (after sending Matthew Stafford there in the deal that brought Jared Goff) to acquire Brockers for a seventh-round pick in 2023. Similarly to the contract adjustment for Goff tying them to him through 2022, the Lions signed Brockers to a new three-year contract extension upon acquiring him.

This season, Brockers was part of a Lions’ run defense that simply dominated at times. He played less as the season went along, and he also made virtually no impact as a pass rusher (one sack, one quarterback hit, five pressures). Veteran leadership is one thing, as is the potential for extra attention from offensive lines, but Brockers simply did not produce like expected.

A pre-June 1 cut would leave the Lions with a shade under $8 million in dead money for 2022, and save them just over $1 million in cap space. A post-June 1 makes the cap savings $3 million. Brockers could be approached to take a pay cut this offseason. A refusal to do so last offseason led the cap-strapped Rams to trade him for a Day 3 draft pick. The Lions may explore trading him themselves this offseason, but an outright cut isn’t out of the question.