With the roster supplemented by young talent in the draft, the days on the Detroit Lions’ roster for these three veteran players could now be numbered.
The Detroit Lions ultimately selected eight players in the 2022 NFL Draft. Add in undrafted free agents and tryouts, and more than 20 players are getting some level of opportunity with the organization as the month of May starts.
In a vacuum, all eight draft picks and a fairly sampling of the UDFAs who were signed have a chance to stick somewhere on the 53-man roster or practice squad in Detroit this year.
So there may be some tough decisions ahead for Lions general manager Brad Holmes as offseason work takes a new path. Cap space is not an issue, with a shade over $18 million to work with right now according to Over The Cap. Any moves made now will be with reducing future salary obligations or tenous holds on jobs/roles in mind.
The Lions could move forward as is, with what their roster is likely to look like come Week 1, and be fine. That said, these three veterans could be starting to look over their shoulder, and fearing a an eventual note on their locker saying essentially, “coach wants to see you, and bring your playbook.”
3 Detroit Lions veterans who could be cut after the draft
3. CB/S Will Harris
After being an eminently replaceable, and truly not NFL-caliber, safety for the better part of three seasons, Harris was pressed into duty at cornerback late last season when injuries slammed the Lions’ secondary. He was, at least mostly, adequate as an outside corner.
Harris versatility is valued as has been noted by Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn and head coach Dan Campbell, to the point the Lions’ head coach tongue-in-cheekly invented a new position in the secondary last month.
"I think Will, part of his strength is his versatility. That’s one of his greatest attributes, which we came to find out last year,” “I think he’s a jack of all trades. We’re still talking right now, you just go out day one, do you put him at corner or do you put him at safety? I’ll be honest, we haven’t just locked that down right now. We’re still kinda talking about it. That’s not a bad thing.” He’s a cafety,” Campbell joked. “Yeah, he’s a hybrid. He really is. He’s a jack of all trades.”"
Harris’ exact role in Detroit’s secondary for 2022 is up in the air, but it’s pretty clear he will not lead (or have to lead) the entire defense in snaps like he did last season (1,012 snaps, by the way). Rookie draft picks Kerby Joseph and Chase Lucas look like locks for roster spots, and the depth added at safety (DeShon Elliott) and corner (Mike Hughes) in free agency will push some people off the roster. If an undrafted free agent surfaces like Jerry Jacobs did last year, then the battle for roster spots will get tighter.
Lions fans have joked and will joke that Harris’ new position should be called “left out.” In a potential numbers crunch in the secondary he may indeed eventually be left out, and the Lions can clear out most ($2.54 million) of his $2.78 million cap hit by cutting him at any point.
2. OG Halapoulivaati Vaitai
Vaitai will never totally live up to the big contract the previous regime in Detroit gave him. However he did play better last season, and his mentorship of Penei Sewell shouldn’t and can’t be discounted.
The Lions did not draft a guard. But they did give big guaranteed money to two undrafted free agent offensive lineman (Kevin Jarvis and Obinna Eze., $155,000 and $170,000 guaranteed respectively), which was a interesting development with rookie minicamp, OTAs and regular minicamp on the horizon. That money is a drop in the bucket in the scope of veteran NFL salaries, but six figure guarantees for UDFAs are pretty rare and the Lions did it for two offensive lineman who seem likely to project to guard in the NFL.
Vaitai would be a more likely post-draft cut if the Lions had selected a guard. But the two aforementioned young guys seem sure to get a fair chance to shine, and fellow UDFA offensive lineman Zein Obeid out of Ferris State can’t be totally dismissed either.
If one (or more than one) of the young lineman shows he’s a keeper, Vaitai’s hold on the starting job at right guard may loosen in kind. Keeping him as an experienced (however expensive) backup could be done without a problem. Or the Lions can cut him post-June 1, and clear $7 million of his $8.73 million cap hit for this year.
1. DE Michael Brockers
Simply put, Brockers did not deliver much in his first year as a Lion. He played 16 games last season, with 52 total tackles. But he had just one sack (with five pressures and one quarterback hit) along with four tackles for loss. His snap shares were reduced as the season went on, and his pass rush production was virtually non-existent after early in the season (as was his level of disruption to offensive backfields).
The Lions gave Brockers a new contract after acquiring him from the Rams last offseason, for reasons only known clearly to them (veteran leadership?). At this point, he’s truly only going to block opportunity for younger players.
Next year looks like the better time to cut Brockers, with the ability to create $10 million in cap space. If someone wanted to trade for him right now, the dead money on the cap is lessened by a good bit. That being said, a post-June 1 cut this year would soften the dead money blow a little bit too ($5.975 million). Some contract restructures could be done to make that dead money more palatable.
Getting down to it, Brockers should be guaranteed nothing in terms of a role on the 2022 Lions’ defensive line. Leadership intangibles only go so far in a meritocracy. And a young team doesn’t need to invite the possibility of a disgruntled veteran, even though there’s nothing up to now in his career that would suggest Brockers will become one.