The Detroit Lions don’t have serious salary cap concerns, but these three cuts (with designation/timing in mind) could clear a lot of space.
With a run through free agency last offseason that was mostly one-year deals, the Detroit Lions aren’t in serious cap trouble for 2022. Contract adjustments/extensions for quarterback Jared Goff and defensive end Michael Brockers upon acquiring them weren’t necessarily a great idea though, particularly in Goff’s case.
As it sits right now, via Over The Cap, the Lions have $23.6 millon in cap space while Spotrac has them at $29.3 million. Either way, they’re in the top half of the league in cap space right now and that’s a fine place to be.
But there’s never such thing as too much cap space, and the Lions can make some cuts to clear significant room. With that in mind, cutting these three players could basically double their current cap space.
3 cuts for the Detroit Lions to potentially clear more than $25 million in cap space
3. RB Jamaal Williams
Williams is a fan and media favorite in Detroit, and he’s also a solid player who got one of few multi-year deals from the Lions last offseason. But on an Motor City “island’ where there are few misfit toys (bad contracts), here we are.
Williams has a reasonable $4.625 million cap hit for 2022, the final year of his contract. But it’s worth wondering if the Lions will consider giving Craig Reynolds a shot at a bigger role behind D’Andre Swift, with Godwin Igwebuike and 2021 draft pick Jermar Jefferson also on the depth chart. If there’s an opportunity in the middle rounds of the draft, maybe Detroit would take a running back.
Cutting Williams (before or after June 1) would chip off $3 million in cap space for the Lions, with $1.625 in dead money. The likelihood it happens is way on the “not happening” side of a coin-flip chance, but a potential depth chart churn leaves Williams a little bit vulnerable to being cut.
2. OG Halapoulivaati Vaitai
With three years left on his deal to spread out the signing bonus hit over, the Lions created $1 million in cap space for the rest of 2021 season by restructuring Vaitai’s contract late in the season.
The move raised Vaitai’s cap hit for 2022 from $8.4 million to $8.73 million, while bumping the dead money for cutting him (before June 1) up one million to $5.2 million. The cap savings for releasing him before June 1, 2022 also dropped from $4.2 million to $3.5 million.
Vaitai is a middle of the road right guard being paid like a fairly premium offensive tackle, in the midst of a five-year, $45 million contract. The Lions could sign an inexpensive free agent guard to compete with him, or the draft could bring an option in. Among Detroit’s top five along the offensive line, who never played a game together this season, Vaitai is by far the most vulnerable to losing his starting job. And if it came to that, he’d be a pretty expensive backup (albeit one with some versatility).
Designating Vaitai a post-June 1 cut would create $7 million in cap space, while leaving $1.7 million in dead money. With that $7 million to possibly create, now we’re getting somewhere on the track to possible create more than $25 million in cap room.
1. OLB Trey Flowers
Lions general manager Brad Holmes may have said it all when he lauded Flowers’ intangibles without mention of his on-field production during his season-wrap up press conference.
"Yeah, you know Trey, you’re talking about the ultimate glue guy, ultimate leader,” “He’s what we’re all about, in terms of grit and being just a football player. So it was unfortunate what he had to deal with, but again, those discussions are going to be forward down the road.”"
Over the last two seasons with the Lions, Flowers has 3.5 sacks over 14 total games. When he landed on IR back in early December, ending his season, it became very easy to question his future in Detroit.
Flowers carries cap hits of $23.2 and $23.6 million for the final two years of his contract. A pre-June 1 cut this year clears close to $10.4 million in cap space, with the rest (around $12.85 million) left behind in dead money.
Designating Flowers a post-June 1 cut would create $16 million in cap space, with $7.2 million in dead money left behind. A trade is a little more helpful in terms of cleared cap space, on either side of June 1, and if last trade deadline is to be believed there may be an offseason market for the veteran edge rusher.
Cutting Flowers seems to be on the Lions’ radar. With very few bad contracts on their balance sheet, doing so is the path to clearing the biggest chunk of cap space.
Other possible cuts for Lions to create 2022 cap space (however likely or unlikely): DE Michael Brockers, S/CB Will Harris, QB Jared Goff, WR Trinity Benson
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