How much cap room the Lions have available to spend in free agency

How much salary cap room do the Detroit Lions have available to spend at the start of free agency?

As free agency kicks off with the legal tampering period ahead of the official start of the new NFL calendar year on Wednesday, March 13th, it’s a good time to look at just how much the Detroit Lions have available to spend. GM Brad Holmes, COO Mike Disner and the Lions front office have assembled a decent war chest to spend in free agency, if they so choose.

The two leading cap room authorities, Over the Cap and Spotrac, have pretty different figures for the Lions as of 11 a.m. on Match 11th.

Over the Cap calculates the Lions to have exactly $45,278,103 in available cap room. Their figure includes recent contracts to returning Lions Jalen Reeves-Maybin, Emmanuel Moseley and Michael Badgley.

Spotrac has the Lions with about $2 million more in cap room, at $47,412,723. Neither site includes Monday’s deal to re-sign RG Graham Glasgow, nor do they appear to include the upcoming rookie wage pool for draft picks. That would drop the figure down to around $36.8 million based on the Lions picking in their current draft slots.

That’s a healthy amount to take to the free agency negotiations. The Lions rank in the top 10 overall in available cap room. This particular Lions regime has been enthusiastic about buying more cap room by adding void years onto bigger contracts. Those shift some of the cap hit to a later time, allowing more immediate flexibility and availability of funds.

It’s also worth noting the report from Justin Rogers of the Detroit News regarding the philosophy Holmes & Co. value in team-building,

Teams aim to leave a buffer for future accounting costs. For example, only the top 51 salaries are included in the cap calculation during the offseason, but once the regular season hits, the full 53-man roster, plus the 16-man practice squad, count. Additionally, teams have to be prepared for injuries and additions, whether via free agency, waivers or trades. Detroit’s organizational preference is to leave between $15-20 million in funds.

That’s not a terribly uncommon strategy; many teams keep an in-season “slush fund” to deal with the inevitable injuries and practice squad transactions, among other things. The $15-20 million Rogers cites would certainly be on the higher end of any NFL team, however.

Let’s work off the $15 million figure for the in-season cushion. That would leave the Lions with around $22 million to spend in free agency. Keep in mind that includes internal re-signings like Glasgow, as well as any potential contract extensions to players like Amon-Ra St. Brown or Jared Goff.

Commanders hire longtime Lions front office exec Lance Newmark as their assistant GM

Newmark was with the Lions for 26 years in a variety of scouting and personnel-related roles

The Detroit Lions avoided losing coordinators Ben Johnson and Aaron Glenn to the Washington Commanders last week, but the team is still losing a valuable piece to Washington’s new-look organization.

The Commanders announced they’ve hired Lance Newmark as their new assistant general manager. Newmark has been with the Lions for 26 seasons and has served in a variety of roles. Most recently, he was Detroit’s senior director of player personnel.

Newmark joins Washington as the right-hand man for new GM Adam Peters. From the Commanders press release,

Newmark previously oversaw the day-to-day operations of the Lions Football Information and Football Technology departments and served as the liaison between these departments and the Lions Player Personnel function. He played influential roles in both the Lions NFL Draft and NFL Free Agency period processes.

In Washington, Newmark is reunited with one-time Lions GM Martin Mayhew. The Commanders moved Mayhew into a senior personnel advisory role, and he and Newmark will work together under Peters.

Lions have almost no dead salary cap hits for 2024 to start the offseason

The Detroit Lions have almost no dead salary cap hits for 2024 to start the offseason

One of the clearest signs the Detroit Lions are in much better hands now than in any other time of the Internet Era is in how well the team is managing the financial aspect of football. For years, the Lions routinely ranked near the top of the NFL in dead salary cap spending — paying for players no longer on the team.

Just three years ago, the Lions paid out over $67 million in cap room for players not in Detroit anymore. It was a lasting handcuff around the ankle attached to the bottom of the pool ladder for the start of the rebuild around GM Brad Holmes and head coach Dan Campbell.

That figure fell down to a more manageable but still egregious $20.3 million in dead cap room lost in 2022. In 2023, with COO Mike Disner finally freed of the shackles that prevented true progress, the figure fell again to $18.7 million in dead cap room.

Detroit ranked 15th in the NFL in dead cap spending in both 2022 and 2023, with higher numbers being more desirable. The Lions are working their way to 32nd, too.

As of the start of the offseason, the Lions rank 23rd in dead cap obligations for the upcoming season. Detroit has just $1.43 million in dead money for 2024. Nearly all of it comes from two players: Marvin Jones ($800,000) and Isaiah Buggs ($500,000). Chase Lucas adds on just under $50,000, with the rest coming from signing bonuses for undrafted rookies who didn’t make the team.

There is the potential for the Lions to add some more with some pending roster decisions. Guys like Tracy Walker, Halapoulivaati Vaitai and Romeo Okwara would add a lot of dead cap to the tally if they’re removed from the roster. But for now, the Lions are sitting a lot prettier than they have in eons in terms of salary cap health and avoiding dead weight.

Poll: Where do you rank Sheila Hamp among the 32 NFL owners after the 2023 season?

Vote in the poll on where you think Sheila Hamp ranks among NFL owners after the 2023 season

Detroit has come a long way from booing owner Sheila Hamp when she presented Calvin Johnson at his Hall of Fame ring ceremony in Ford Field. The chants of “sell the team” have given way to “Let’s go Lions” and “Jared Goff” — even away from football and at road games.

The team’s transformation would not have been possible without a dedicated, patient owner with some gumption and humility. Hamp has proven to be the right person for the task in Detroit.

But where does the Lions matriarch land in the ranking of the 32 NFL owners?

During December, The Athletic and analyst Mike Sando ranked Hamp 23rd in the annual owner ratings.

It seemed like a fair ranking for Hamp given the circumstances. As noted by analyst Mike Sando, Hamp inherited coach Matt Patricia and GM Bob Quinn from her well-meaning but hands-off mother, Martha Ford. The transformation into the franchise overhaul, as deftly executed by GM Brad Holmes and head coach Dan Campbell, took some time before finally hitting its stride.

Now that the Lions finished off their first NFC North championship and won two playoff games in the same postseason for the first time in the Super Bowl era, 23rd seems quite low. Hamp deserves a lot of credit for sticking with a plan that would have been easy to abandon, and she’s done so by giving the team whatever resources it needs to keep building.

Where would you rank Hamp now?

The Bank of Tunsil: Houston’s path to more cap space

The Texans could create significant cap space by restructuring Laremy Tunsil’s contract, but should they do it?

Laremy Tunsil has made a career out of earning paydays from the McNair family.

His dominance as a four-time Pro Bowl left tackle for the Houston Texans has, at times, been overshadowed by the massive trade package that brought him to Houston and the subsequent contracts he signed.

Tunsil was traded to Houston in 2019 for two first-round picks and a second-round selection. He played through the 2019 playoff campaign before signing a market-setting three-year, $66 million extension in the summer of 2020 under then-general manager and head coach Bill O’Brien. He became the highest-paid left tackle in NFL history.

The Ole Miss product, despite overall team failure by the Texans, was able to turn an impressive 2022 campaign into yet another market-setting contract – this time with general manager Nick Caserio. Tunsil signed for three years, $75 million last summer to once again take the crown as the highest-paid offensive lineman in NFL history.

In short, Tunsil has done very well in Houston.

This topic is set to come up yet again this spring as the Texans prepare to make a potential Super Bowl push. Under rookie head coach DeMeco Ryans and rookie quarterback C.J. Stroud, the team is well ahead of schedule and won the AFC South in 2023 while advancing to the AFC divisional round. A humbling loss to Baltimore exposed that their overall talent level is not yet where it needs to be to truly compete with the top of the conference.

The Texans have plenty of cap space to pursue free agents and upgrades this offseason but if they want to pursue more, they have a very obvious in-house option with their franchise left tackle. The Bank of Tunsil, per se, could return salary cap space in exchange for more immediate money from the Texans by restructuring his contract.

Brad Holmes: Lions will be ‘very intentional about our intangibles’ in adding players

Detroit GM Brad Holmes says the Lions will be “very intentional about our intangibles” in adding players

Lions GM Brad Holmes has a keen eye for talent. He’s proven that over the years as the man in charge of picking the players for the Detroit Lions, as well as his prior role as the director of college scouting for the Los Angeles Rams.

For Holmes, seeing the talent is the easy part. He wants players with more than just the physical gifts in potential draftees and free agent signings for his Lions. He made that abundantly clear in his year-ending press conference on Monday.

“We have to get past just looking for the most talented player,” Holmes stated.” In my opinion, that’s the prerequisite of evaluation. That’s the – who’s the fastest? Who’s the strongest? Who’s got the most height? That’s a very coherent thing to do. No, it’s how do you find the right intangibles in a football player? And that’s what’s made us who we are.”

Holmes cited 2021 fourth-round pick Amon-Ra St. Brown as an example of a player who “had the intangibles that we were looking for to set our foundation.”

If that sounds familiar, it should. It’s in lockstep with what head coach Dan Campbell said last week,

“We’ve got to add more talent, more competition that thinks the same way that group of guys in that locker room does. And it’s non-negotiable if it’s not. There’s no level of talent that is worth bringing something that doesn’t fit what we’re about in there.”

That might lead to some external criticism. Holmes called out some individual reporters who had slammed some of the picks the team has made. It’s clear Holmes, Campbell and company are looking for more than just talent. They want specific types of individuals who happen to have great talents.

Or, as Holmes summarized,

“It just goes back to what we build and being very intentional about our intangibles and what we’re looking for in Detroit Lions.”

Lions owner Sheila Hamp thanks the fans in an upbeat letter

Lions owner Sheila Hamp thanks the fans in an upbeat letter sent to season-ticket holders

In a letter sent to season-ticket holders, Detroit Lions owner Sheila Hamp went out of her way to thank the fans for their support in the incredible 2023 season and playoff run.

“I am so proud of this team, our coaches, our amazing fans, and everyone throughout the state of Michigan that supported us this season and during our playoff run,” Hamp wrote.

The chants have changed from “sell the team” to “Jared Goff,” even spreading into hockey arenas and grocery stores around Michigan. Hamp notes that she felt the power of the support and came across as quite grateful for the positive energy.

The full letter from Hamp, via a season ticket member:

Thank you, Mrs. Hamp. It wouldn’t be possible without you.

Lions will give All-Pro C Frank Ragnow time to decide on his playing future

GM Brad Holmes indicated the Lions will give All-Pro C Frank Ragnow time to decide on his playing future

Among the many key points that Lions GM Brad Holmes touched upon in his end-of-season press conference was the unclear future of All-Pro center Frank Ragnow.

Ragnow has battled through several injuries over his six seasons in Detroit, but the 2023 campaign was an extreme one for No. 77. In the final weeks of the Lions run to the NFC Championship game, Ragnow was listed on the weekly injury report with four separate maladies: toe, ankle, knee and back.

The toe injury is a serious one, and while Ragnow has gutted it out with considerable aplomb, it’s not easy on him. There has been talk of Ragnow potentially retiring in this offseason. It’s talk that Holmes did not push back on when asked about it in his press conference on Monday.

“Ragnow, it’s only one of them on the planet, in my opinion,” Holmes said. “But I have so much respect for him and for everything that he goes through and fights through that I’m just respectful of his time and his thoughts. And we’re not going to pressure him to do anything or make any moves. But the communication will be diligent. It’ll be thorough, it’ll be respectful.”

Having star players retire early is a sensitive issue for the Lions. It’s an organization that saw Hall of Famers Barry Sanders and Calvin Johnson both retire much earlier than expected and not on great terms with the regimes at the times. Those times have clearly changed under Holmes and owner Sheila Hamp, and handling Ragnow with the respect he deserves is a further validation.

On a more pragmatic level, Ragnow is currently the only player on the Lions roster who has ever snapped a ball in an NFL game. Graham Glasgow could return as a free agent, but he’s the starting right guard. Expect Holmes and the Lions to bolster the depth behind Ragnow this offseason, at minimum.

Brad Holmes wins Executive of the Year from PFWA

Holmes is the first Lions exec to ever win the PFWA award

The latest set of awards for the 2023 NFL season from the Pro Football Writers of America are now out, and the Lions brought a big one home. Detroit GM Brad Holmes won the PFWA voting for NFL Executive of the Year.

Holmes earned the award for guiding the Lions to the team’s first NFC North title and the most road victories in a season, as well as the most wins by 10 or more points in any season in Detroit history. He is the first Lions exec to win the honor since its creation in 1993.

Head coach Dan Campbell was a prime candidate to win the Coach of the Year honor, but that instead went to Texans rookie head coach Demeco Ryans. Offensive coordinator Ben Johnson lost out on the Assistant Coach of the Year to Ravens defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald.

Lions COO Mike Disner is staying in Detroit

Lions COO Mike Disner is staying in Detroit after removing his name from consideration for the Panthers GM vacancy

Current Detroit Lions COO Mike Disner will remain in that role for the 2024 season. Disner was a candidate to leave but has opted to remain with the Lions.

Tom Pelissero of NFL.com reports that Disner is “staying in Detroit” after withdrawing his name from consideration for the Carolina Panthers vacant general manager position. The Panthers apparently moved on as well, conducting second interviews with some other candidates before Disner ever took a first.

Disner is the Lions’ chief contract negotiator and salary cap manager. He does also contribute to player personnel decisions under GM Brad Holmes in Detroit’s consensus-oriented front office.

It’s a welcome return for Disner, who has established himself as one of the NFL’s best-regarded young front office talents.