The Detroit Lions center Russell Bodine has opted out of the 2020 season per the NFL transaction wire. He will join wide receiver Geronimo Allison and nose tackle John Atkins on the Lions’ reserve/opt-out list.
Bodine has started 74 games started in the NFL, including his first 64 of his career after being selected by the Cincinnati Bengals in the fourth round in 2014. He started for the Bills in 2018 and was traded to the Patriots during the 2019 offseason.
He was cut in Patriots camp, and despite his wealth of experience, was not picked up and did not play in the NFL in 2019. The Lions signed him to a futures deal in January of 2020.
Bodine was expected to battle sophomore offensive lineman Beau Benzschaewel for a reserve center position in camp but none of the beat writers who made pre-training camp 53-man projections had him making the roster — including our projection at Lions Wire.
Bodine’s contract was the 52nd highest on the Lions 2020 roster and because of the Top-51 salary cap rule, his opting out will not clear any cap space for the Lions in 2020, and his contract will toll to the 2021 season.