Detroit Lions Free Agency Plans: Jalen Ramsey and Daron Payne are off the market

Jalen Ramsey and Daron Payne are off the market. How does that impact the Detroit Lions plan in free agency?

On Sunday morning, not only did we all wake up to our clocks being moved up an hour, we also got word that the Rams were trading Jalen Ramsey. Now there were all kinds of betting odds stating that the Lions were the favorites to land Jalen Ramsey. Most of that makes sense, especially with the ties of Brad Holmes to the Rams. However, after the Sunday coffee brewed, the news broke and Ramsey wasn’t headed to Detroit.

The Miami Dolphins were able to land the Pro Bowl cornerback, not Detroit. While the Dolphins barely gave up anything, they are giving Ramsey and adjusted contract that will pay him fully guaranteed money for the next two seasons. It will average out to $20 million per season and an additional $25 million guaranteed.

I’ll say this to the Lions fans that feel like Detroit are doing it wrong for not “offering anything.” We don’t know what has been discussed behind closed doors but keep in mind that the Lions have some contract extensions that are going to have to get figured out over the next year or so. Also, Miami was the preferred destination for Ramsey. It was going to be hard to top that and to be honest; there’s no reason to get into a bidding war for a defensive back that’s approaching the age of 30 and is starting to see decline in play.

To add to the disappointment for Lions fans, not only will they not be adding Jalen Ramsey, they won’t be adding defensive tackle Daron Payne. On Sunday afternoon, the Washington Commanders announced a four-year contract extension worth $90 million dollars for Payne.

While we still need to see how the contract is formatted, it’s still a lot of money for a player that the Lions probably were never going to sign. One thing we’ve learned by watching the Brad Homes regime is that he takes a conservative approach to free agency.

So keep that in mind as we await for some crazy deals for the Lions over the next few weeks. That said, I wouldn’t expect them open the check books and just start slinging money around. The Lions could look at bringing in cornerback Jamel Dean if they wanted to sign a big name but it wouldn’t be surprising if he signed elsewhere. While I’m becoming the bearer of bad news, let’s take a look at two free agents that match the conservative approach that we’ve seen from Brad Homes and the Lions over the last two off-seasons.

CB Sean Murphy-Bunting 

Like I said, it would be pretty cool if the Lions became big time spenders and brought in Jamel Dean. But it wouldn’t be surprising if they pivot and look for a cheaper options. One player that comes to mind is New Orleans Saints cornerback P.J. Williams. He’s got some familiarity with Aaron Glenn but he’s also going to be 30-years old this summer.

So what if the Lions don’t go with the top free agent cornerback in Jamel Dean or a familiar face in PJ Williams? I could see them looking at a potential hometown kid in Sean Murphy-Bunting. Coming out of Chippewa Valley High School in Clinton Township, Michigan, he wasn’t highly recruited. He ended up at Central Michigan and carved out a very good career in Mount Pleasant. It ended up leading to him getting a Scouting Combine invite and ultimately, he ended up being a 2nd round pick to the Buccaneers in the 2019 NFL Draft.

Looking at the projected contract predictions on PFF, they’re predicting that Murphy-Bunting will get a two-year deal with $4.25 million guaranteed and an average of $3.75 million per year. While an injured quad limited him to only 9 games played for the season, Murphy-Bunting finished the 2022 season strong with six pass deflections and an interception.

As of now, Murphy-Bunting looks potentially like the odd man out in Tampa Bay due to cap restraints and some injuries over the last two seasons. With a reasonable contract and a potential trip back home, Sean Murphy-Bunting could look to Detroit for the next chapter of his NFL career.

IDL Sheldon Rankins 

As I mentioned earlier, the market for defensive tackles has been set with Daron Payne getting a $90 million dollar deal over the next four years. Teams are going to pay plenty of money for Dalvin Tomlinson, Javon Hargrave and Dre’Mont Jones. Maybe the Lions will be one of those teams, but we’ll have to wait and see.

If we follow along the conservative approach that we’ve seen from the Lions front office, the top player on the top of their list could very well be Sheldon Rankins.

Over the last two seasons, Rankins has compiled 70 tackles and six sacks for the New York Jets. Prior to that, he had spent six seasons with the New Orleans Saints. The Saints had drafted Rankins in the 2016 NFL Draft with the 12th overall pick. That would bring a player that’s familiar with Aaron Glenn on the defensive side of the football.

While Rankins will be 29-years old this spring, there’s still good reason to believe that an affordable two-year contract could be worthwhile. PFF predicts that his market value will be a two-year contract worth a total of $12 million dollars. Fairly reasonable for a player that provides some pass rush value but is also versatile and is coming off one of his best defensive graded (73.1) seasons (per PFF) since 2018.

Slotting him on the Lions defensive line gives Detroit plenty of flexibility within their rotation. Meanwhile, it gives them an explosive option on the interior. Lastly, it doesn’t force the Lions to not draft an interior defensive lineman. They could still look at a player such as Calijah Kancey, who has a similar skill-set to Rankins. Rather than breaking the bank, this could be a much more affordable option that fits what the Lions are starting to build.