On the same morning when the Detroit Lions signed punter Jack Fox to a new contract extension, the team also created some cap space by restructuring the contract of injured right guard Halapoulivaati Vaitai.
Per Field Yates of ESPN, the Lions created some $2.4 million in cap space for 2022 by moving money around on “Big V’s” deal.
Vaitai is in the third season of a five-year, $45 million contract he signed as a free agent prior to the 2020 season. After spending his first season at right tackle, Vaitai moved to guard and performed much better. He’s not played in 2022 due to a back injury suffered just before Week 1.
The Lions have restructured the contract of OL Halapoulivaati Vaitai and created ~$2.42M in 2022 cap space. Big V is currently on IR following back surgery.
— Field Yates (@FieldYates) October 22, 2022
Stay tuned for more concrete details of what the Lions did with Big V’s contract and how it impacts the team’s salary cap beyond this year.