All Lions Mailbag: Marvin Jones Future, Current Cap Space and More
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In this week's Lions mailbag, there are a variety of questions with a lot of answers that involve projections for the upcoming season.
I first look at what role will Jamal Agnew have on this team, is Tracy Walker “overrated,” what is to become of Marvin Jones after his contract is up after this season, breaking down the cap space, and who will be the Lions main running back.
Without further ado, let's unveil this week's mailbag:
1.) Do you think Jamal Agnew can be a good gadget guy? Like a better JD McKissic or Marvin Hall? -- @Hokagaye
Answer: I think Agnew is more dynamic with the ball in his hands than both McKissic and Hall. Unfortunately for Agnew, there is more to the position than just running with the football. The question will be how quickly Agnew adjusts to running routes and how frequently the Lions will want him to.
In a specialized yet limited role, it could make things more predictable.
But anytime the Lions can find a way to get him the ball in space, good things will happen.
2.) Do you think Tracy Walker has become the most overrated Lions player? -- @dwhitehead96
A: It all depends on your perception. To me personally, I think his value from fans is just about right. Walker has flashed at times and seems to be a ball hawk.
I’m not claiming him to be a top-10 safety in the NFL or anything, but the potential is there.
Overall, he is a good young talent and one of the better players on the Lions defense -- although, that is not saying much.
3.) What are your thoughts on keeping Marvin Jones past this year? What is a reasonable offer to keep him here understanding that he only played 24 games in the last two seasons? -- @TylerRoak
A: The Lions should re-sign Kenny Golladay, but he won’t come cheap. You can only allocate so much money at the position and its unlikely that Jones would get the best deal from Detroit next season if they just gave a big extension to Golladay.
A reasonable offer for Jones on the open free agent market considering is age and production is probably a couple-year deal for around $10 million per season.
That would likely be out of the Lions price range. I could see the Lions feeling comfortable around $7-8 million per year for Jones in 2021.
4.) With the cap dollars left, how much goes to draft picks, how much do estimate for a contract extension for Kenny Golladay/ Taylor Decker? Finally, what is left to shop for free agents? -- @Joecimino60
A: Detroit currently sits a little over $28 million dollars in open cap space with its top four selections yet to be officially signed.
The new CBA already has placed pretty close figures for what type of contracts we can expect to see for them, though.
Here are the top picks ball-park salaries for this season:
- Jeff Okudah -- $6,096,098
- D'Andre Swift -- $1,552,530
- Julian Okwara -- $895,784
- Jonah Jackson -- $872,140
Due to the top-51 salary cap rule, the top-51 contracts are the only ones that count against the cap until the regular season. So with roughly a $750,000 player falling off the salary cap after each signing, that means the Lions need around $6.4 million dollars of cap space to sign their remaining rookies.
That would leave still an estimated $22 million in space to look at free agents. It’s also important to note that Bob Quinn typically goes into the season with a little extra cap room to work with for mid-season deals -- let’s just say around $10 million or so.
Nobody knows if the cap will increase next year with this pandemic as well. It could be wise to try and save some cash to carry over to next season. Overall, you would think the Lions have $12 million to actually spend on free agents with a little wiggle room either way.
Real quick on Golladay and Decker. If I had to guess their yearly average salary on a new contract, I would say both are right around $17 million per season. Golladay is the better player of the two but the left tackle is pricier of the two positions.
5.) By seasons end do you think Swift will be lead back over Johnson? -- @MBennett0129
A: If both remain healthy, which is a big if, I think it’s going to be a pretty even split most of the year. There might be certain matchups and situations that could change from week to week, but if you had to split hairs, I could see Swift being the de facto starter by the end of the season. Neither is going to be considered a true workhorse in my opinion. This will be a heavy running back by committee approach.
