Another of the Detroit Lions’ offseason questions has been answered. The Lions and veteran EDGE Romeo Okwara have agreed to a contract renegotiation that reduces Okwara’s salary and frees up cap room for 2023.
According to Field Yates of ESPN, the Lions cut Okwara’s salary from $14.5 million to $5.647 million on Monday. Over The Cap breaks down the new contract like this:
- $2 million base salary (down from $14.5 million)
- $7 million signing bonus for the new contract, spread out evenly between 2023 and 2024, which is an added void year
- $3.5 million in dead cap room for 2024
- $500,000 roster bonus
The move effectively guarantees Okwara will be on the Lions roster, at least through the draft and early offseason. It would cost the Lions $1.35 million more to cut him prior to June 1st than it would to keep him on the active roster. After June 1st, the Lions would save a little under $2.15 million in cap room if they moved on from the seven-year vet, again per Over The Cap’s breakdown of the new contract structure.
Lions edge rusher Romeo Okwara agreed to a renegotiated contract that reduces his cap hit for 2023 down from $14.5M to $5.647M.
— Field Yates (@FieldYates) March 20, 2023
It’s a similar move to how the Lions handled fellow veteran EDGE Charles Harris a week ago. Like Okwara, Harris accepted a lower contract to stick with Detroit and help the team free up cap space.