The list of potential cap casualties for the Detroit Lions this offseason was very short going into the offseason. After the release of safety Tracy Walker in February, defensive lineman John Cominsky stood out. It was possible to clear $4.6 million in cap space, with minimal dead money ($1.7 million), to cut Cominsky coming off a down year compared to 2022.
According to Justin Rogers of the Detroit News, citing NFLPA records, Cominsky has agreed to a pay cut to stay in Detroit.
Cominsky was originally slated to make $5.1 million in salary this year, the second of the two-year $8.5 million deal he signed last offseason. That base salary is now down to $2.5 million, with an extra $500,000 signing bonus guaranteed. $1.2 million in dead money lingered from his original deal, and his 2024 cap hit now drops from $6.3 million to $4.2 million.
Originally claimed off waivers from the Atlanta Falcons in June of 2022 offseason, Cominsky quickly moved into a prominent role along Detroit's defensive front in his first year with the team (556 defensive snaps). He earned the respect his teammates by playing the second half of that season with a club on his hand after suffering a broken thumb in Week 2 that required surgery. Over the final nine games in 2022, he played at least 70 percent of the defensive snaps eight times.
John Cominsky agrees to pay cut to stay in Detroit
Right after the 2022 season ended, Cominsky made it clear he wanted to stay with the Lions, and it was also clear they valued him highly as a piece of their defensive front. Even with his production drop-off last season (four sacks in 2022, to two last year: 44 pressures to 29), cutting him was a coin-flip proposition.
Cominsky is a culture fit in Detroit, and it's not a surprise he was agreeable to taking a pay cut. If he gets back toward what he did in 2022, the Lions will get a bargain.