As a team on the rise, a salary cap analyst has revealed how good a position the Detroit Lions are in for 2024.
Heading into his third season as Detroit Lions general manager, Brad Holmes has largely done exemplary work. The team has few big contracts right now, as the roster has naturally shifted younger.
Expectations are high for the Lions this year. But looking at a chart put out by via Jason Fitzgerald of Over The Cap, their position for 2024 looks quite good.
A quick look at how much teams have riding on the 2023 season pic.twitter.com/IEkLYVik6F
— Jason_OTC (@Jason_OTC) June 15, 2023
The 'Y' axis is number of 2024 unrestricted free agents who played at least a 30 percent share of snaps in 2022. The 'X' axis is projected 2024 cap space. So the Lions have six 2024 free agents who qualify, and $90 million? in projected cap space (counting carryover).
Fitzgerald further explained, teams in the bottom right quadrant (where the Lions are) this way:
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Teams in the bottom right are the ones who are likely going to be active in free agency or with early extensions in 2024"
At a glance, the six looming 2024 free agents for the Lions who played at least a 30 percent snap share in 2022 seem to be:
LG Jonah Jackson
WR Josh Reynolds
WR Kalif Raymond
TE Brock Wright
CB Jerry Jacobs
DB Will Harris
Jackson may get a contract extension, and for what it's worth he'd like one to stay in Detroit. Raymond may stick around after 2023 too, as could/should Jacobs. Reynolds, Wright and Harris are probably gone to the open market after the season.
With money to spend next offseason, few noteworthy players set to be free agents and even fewer than that set to possibly be notable free agent losses, the Lions are in a very good position for 2024.
It's worth noting Halapoulivaati Vaitai, Romeo Okwara and Charles Harris could play notable roles for the Lions this year, but all three were sidelined for all or most of last season by injury and thus didn't meet the 30 percent snap share threshold to make Fitzgerald's chart. Chauncey Gardner-Johnson and Emmanuel Moseley were signed to one-year deals this offseason, and thus could be noteworthy losses next March while having not played for the team last year.
But let's not quibble too much with the trivial additional details. The Lions are lined up for sustainable success on paper--they just have to deliver it on the field.