Free Agency Spending Power: Lions Rank No. 22 in NFL
Some NFL franchises are set up much better than others to go on a spending free when the free agency period actually kicks off next week.
For Detroit, the plan will be not to pigeon hole themselves into only just signing certain positions.
"If it makes sense that, ‘Hey, this is the position that we do it at, it’s wide receiver, then we get a receiver. If it’s tight end, it’s tight end. If it’s running back, then it’s running back.’ Somebody that can complement D’Andre Swift, somebody that helps push him, but that doesn’t mean that it’s over. That doesn’t mean that we’re not drafting somebody as well," head coach Dan Campbell said last month.
"So, we’re going to have a lot of flexibility in what we do here. We’re not going to be in this mad rush or panic to get into the game with everybody else. We’ll find a way to make this work," Campbell explained further. "It might not always be pretty, but we’ll find guys that know how to compete and that can hold their own for a little bit here, one way or another while we get up on our feet.”
Former New Orleans Saints Tight End Josh Hill
© Dennis Wierzbicki-USA TODAY Sports
The Athletic recently rated the free agency spending power of all 32 NFL teams "using information from Spotrac, Over The Cap and numbers gathered by our staff based on moves made through Thursday afternoon."
For Detroit and general manager Brad Holmes, the expectations are that they will not be big players this season in free agency.
"The Lions had nearly $200 million in commitments after trading for Jared Goff. They cleared $12.8 million worth of cap space by cutting cornerback Desmond Trufant and linebacker Christian Jones and restructuring linebacker Jamie Collins. Detroit is also expected to cut cornerback Justin Coleman, but still won’t be big players in free agency. Unless they have some Rams ties," NFL writer Vic Tafur explained.
This month, Detroit has signed tight end Josh Hill and veteran wideout Tyrell Williams, with more minor signings expected over the course of the next two weeks.
More from SI All Lions:
NFC North Rumor: Bears Planning to Make Huge Offer for Russell Wilson
Lions Sign Tight End Josh Hill
Where Lions Stand at Cornerback Following Release of Justin Coleman
Brad Holmes Cleaning Up Mess Left by Bob Quinn
Ranking Lions' Draft Choices at No. 7
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