A key part of the Detroit Lions' rebuild orchestrated by general manager Brad Holmes is the correction in the team's balance sheet. Their dead money situation has been trending dramatically positive the last couple years, and right now it sits at a paltry (with paltry being a good thing in this case) $1.43 million for 2024.
Whatever source you look at, Over The Cap ($46.1 million) or Spotrac ($48.1 million), the Lions are top-10 in the NFL in cap space for 2024 right now. So they don't really have to do anything to create more room to operate this offseason, but as free agency approaches more is generally accepted as better.
There aren't a lot of obvious cuts/likely cap casualties on the Lions' roster. But Looming contract extensions this offseason are in line to adjust some 2024 cap numbers, and some contract restructures could be on the table too. Those are the most likely paths to adding cap room
On the restructure front, these four Lions are the most likely to have their contracts restructured this spring.
4. P Jack Fox
The Lions have rightfully made Fox one of the highest-paid punters in the league. He did have a slightly down year by some measures in 2023 (46.4 yards per punt; 41.7 net average), but that's compared to his previous three seasons. This past season, his rate of punts downed inside the 20-yard line went up to 45.6 percent from 26.9 percent in 2022.
The years left on Fox's contract (through 2026) makes it viable for the Lions to restructure him this offseason.
Estimated savings (according to Over The Cap): $1.33 million
Estimated savings (according to Spotrac): $1.28 million
3. S Tracy Walker
Walker's 2022 season ended in Week 3 with a torn Achilles', then as he made a fast recovery his role was put up in their air by the signing of C.J. Gardner-Johnson. Then Gardner-Johnson went down with a torn pectoral in Week 2, which thrusted the former team captain back into a starting role.
Walker had ups and downs in that starting role, as could have been expected working his way back from a major injury. He was eventually replaced in the lineup by Ifeatu Melifonwu, who became one of the stars of the Lions' defense down the stretch.
Walker barely played in the final four regular season games this past season (a total of four defensive snaps), then he was a healthy scratch for all three playoff games.
Outright cutting Walker this offseason, depending on a pre or post-June 1 designation, would leave behind dead money along with some cap savings. He certainly has some potential trade value, as the Lions don't have a clear starting job for him and a $12.8 million cap hit is excessive for a backup/possible special teamer.
But on the restructure path, the Lions could keep Walker around in the final year of his contract an open up a little cap space.
Estimated savings (according to Over The Cap: $3,437,500
2. C Frank Ragnow
After his comments the day after the NFC Championship Game fueled some speculation he could retire, Ragnow has already put to bed any doubt about his plans for next season.
’"I'm not retiring,” Ragnow said, per Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press on the night of NFL Honors during Super Bowl week.“I just need a few weeks to get healthy,” he said. “I guess my typical offseason routine is kind of get right back into it, but I think as I’m getting older I need to understand that sometimes maybe less is more. And I just need some time to make sure I’m healthy and then we’ll get rolling again."
Ragnow will just need time to heal from all the injuries he dealt with this past season, and he'll surely get some fishing in before getting back to work. He may retire a little earlier than a lot of players of his caliber, but that's a conversation for another day down the road.
Ragnow has three years left on his contract, with no remaining cap hits that are higher than 2023's. As with Fox, having that much time left on his deal makes a restructure easier to do in terms of not creating cap headache in the future.
Estimated savings (according to Over The Cap): $4.583 million
Estimated savings (according to Spotrac): $4.516 million
1. CB Cameron Sutton
At best, Sutton was just not very impactful in his first season as a Lion (one interception and nine pass breakups in 20 games; including playoffs). At worst he was downright awful late in the season, even within the scope of facing a unique run of very good wide receivers.
Some Lions' fans may like it if Sutton was gone one year into the three-year deal he signed last offseason, but that won't be happening for the reasons outlined here. It's also worth wondering if a toe injury that nearly led to him missing Week 17 against the Dallas Cowboys was a factor in his late-season ineptitude. Not to give him an excuse, but let's give him some benefit of doubt even if he was not subsequently on the injury report.
In any case, Sutton will get a mulligan next season and ideally he won't be tasked with covering the opponent's best wide receiver on a regular basis. If he struggles badly again next season, this whole conversation will have a different tone a year from now.
But this offseason, a restructure of Sutton's contract to drop his $12.68 million cap hit for 2024 is in play and he should be agreeable to it.
Estimated savings (according to Over The Cap: $6.967 million
Estimated savings (according to Spotrac): $4.687 million