Detroit Lions are middle of the pack in NFL for 2022 dead money

The Detroit Lions are in far better shape this year in terms of dead money they’ll carry, but where they rank league-wide going into the season is now all but locked in.

With the start of a rebuild often comes financial pain for an NFL team, in terms of salary cap implications that come with unloading veterans. The Detroit Lions were certainly in that boat last year, with a big chunk of dead money from trading Matthew Stafford driving their league-high dead money total in 2021.

Things are far better this year, with the offseason release of Trey Flowers accounting for the biggest chunk (a little over $12 million) of the around $20.3 million in dead money the Lions will carry this year, according to Spotrac.

According to Spotrac, the Lions rank 14th in the league in dead money. The Atlanta Falcons ($63.037 million) have the highest amount, with the Chicago Bears ($52.812 million) and Houston Texans ($52.234 million) carrying over $50 million. The New York Jets ($2.092 million) have the lowest dead money number.

Here’s the breakdown of the Lions’ 2022 dead money.

Trey Flowers: $12,112,376
Jamie Collins: $6,333,334
Tyrell Williams: $1,000,000
Jahlani Tavai: $758,449

No matter what, Detroit Lions will be in good shape in terms of dead money

Depending on moves they might make in the coming months, the Lions could add to their 2022 dead money pile. Via Over The Cap, here are a couple larger examples, with the dead money figures attached to parting ways.

OG Halapoulivaati Vaitai: Cut-$5.2 million (pre-June 1), $1.73 million (post-June 1), Trade-Same numbers as a cut before or after June 1

DL Michael Brockers: Cut-$7.95 million (pre-June 1), $5.975 million (post-June 1), Trade-$3.95 million (before June 1), $1.975 million (after June 1)

Some other moves the Lions could make, surprising or otherwise, would carry less ramifications in terms of dead money and/or potential cap savings.

In any case, no matter what, the Lions will not come anywhere close to touching the amount of dead money they carried last year this year. Looking to 2023, while that is pretty sure to change, they don’t have any dead money to be stuck with on their books right now.