The Detroit Lions' offseason is continuing on despite the team having just six more days until kickoff.
The 2026 season comes with a bit of a price tag for the Lions and a few other teams around the league, as they are over the cap as of Labor Day. That's because, once a final 53-man roster is submitted, all deals count against the cap as opposed to just 51 of those contracts. Ironically, the Lions only have 51 players rostered right now.
So, regardless of them cutting any more players or signing anyone else, they need to likely restructure some existing deals to get under the cap. Three specific deals make the most sense to expect a restructuring for: Amon-Ra St. Brown, Alim McNeill, and Penei Sewell.
How much cap space these 3 restructurings could clear for Lions
All numbers are courtesy Over the Cap's cap calculator.
Amon-Ra St. Brown: $20,054,918 for 2026
There's a good argument to be made regarding St. Brown's restructuring: he's seen as a franchise face and long-term piece to the teams' contention, and he is only 27 years old. Restructuring his deal would convert some money at the tail end of his deal into signing bonus, but it wouldn't feel like too big of an onus if they reach the Super Bowl with St. Brown over the life of his deal.
Of course, the negative (as would be the negative for any of these restructurings) is that the team would be taking on a cap hit of $10 million in 2031 - three years after his deal is actually done with the Lions. So, Detroit would really be tying themselves down to St. Brown long-term.
Alim McNeill: $15,627,668 for 2026
McNeill's deal would make some sense for the Lions to restructure as it's a smaller burden on them long-term and he also figures to be a long-term piece of the teams' defense. McNeill is expected to have a major bounce back in 2026 after returning from injury and appearing a step slow last year.
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The team would be tied up in $8,662,250 in bonus money to McNeill by 2029, one year after his extension is set to be over, but no other money would be owed to him after that. Plus, clearing up $15 million dollars in space gives Detroit just enough room to potentially promote two players from their practice squad to round out their roster affordably, or to sign two players on veteran minimum.
Penei Sewell: $13,566,918 for 2026
Sewell is another player the Lions should consider restructuring for the same reason they should consider restructuring St. Brown's deal: he's going to be a part of Detroit's blueprint for success for a long time, so tying themselves up in paying him down the line isn't necessarily a burden. Sewell would only impact their cap space until 2030 to the tune of $3.7 million.
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