The Lions’ Free Agency Picture Gets Clearer

On Monday, I posted the timeline for contracts and signings, and noted that what happens midweek will set the stage for the moves to come:

Besides the rumors of who’s negotiating with who that will hit the wire come Tuesday lunchtime, keep a close watch on Thursday for the release of Lions veterans. Cuts, and whispers of renegotiated contracts for players like Jeff Backus, will hint broadly at the Lions’ approach. Will they be major players for major contributors, or just dipping a finger in the frosting of a rich free agent cake?

A few moves have already been made: Bryant Johnson has been informed of his impending release, Dave Rayner has agreed to return to compete for the kicking job, and free agent OLB Stephen Nicholas will return to the Falcons. Now, the National Football Post is reporting that the Lions have offered Titans MLB Stephen Tulloch a contract with a $10M bonus, and that Lions staff and players alike are helping recruit Tulloch to Detroit.

If they could land him, it would neatly upgrade two positions at once: Tulloch would step in as MLB, and DeAndre Levy would return to the outside. With Bobby Carpenter a free agent, the Lions would still have to add an OLB of some kind, but the LB corps would be greatly improved regardless.

The question remains: what are the Lions’ plans for the cornerback position? The amount of cap room the Lions have left isn’t great; my thought was they’d be able to get a handful of decent players, or perhaps make a big splash on one and get one more good guy. If Tulloch agrees to this apparently-massive deal, I’m not sure they’ll be able to make a run at Johnathan Joseph, as ESPN’s Chis Mortenson rumored.

Then again, as Sports Business Journal’s Liz Mullen pointed out on Twitter, the NFL’s new salary cap is “soft.” It’s a leaguewide maximum total, not a per-team maximum—and even then, there’s some wiggle room ($3M of exceptions in the first year, for example). Perhaps the Lions are simply going to go for broke—add two long-term, quality starters in Tulloch and Joseph, and round out the bottom of the roster with lots and lots of youth. I can’t say the vision I’m seeing through the fog is entirely unpleasant.

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Thickening The Herd: The Lions’ UDFA Cattle Call

Last night, Twitter was burning up with rumors of undrafted free agent contract agreements. Speculation, rumor, confirmation; media and players and agents and fans all Tweeting at, about, and over each other about who’s going where. I was fielding questions about potential and actual signees, and I had to say something that I don’t like to say: “I don’t know.”

For starters, as I’ve said, I don’t know very much about college football. Once I get past Michigan State and their rivals in the Big Ten, my knowledge of NCAA pigskin is barely skin deep. I love the NFL draft, but I don’t typically “scout” prospects projected to go after the fourth round. I certainly don’t familiarize myself with potential UDFA. Why? Because I love the Lions, and I love the NFL—and, especially with the roster in its current state—undrafted free agent rookies have a Olympic mountain to climb to make the roster.

Let’s look at position we’re stressing about: Offensive Tackle. With Jeff Backus and Gosder Cherilus both coming off of injury, it would make sense to pursue some “help” at offensive tackle, right? Well, the Lions already have Jason Fox, Corey Hilliard, Tony Ugoh, and Johnny Culbreath behind those two. The Lions aren’t carrying six, or even five, pure offensive tackles on a roster of 53. Any UDFA is going to have to prove that he’s better than the guy the Lions drafted ahead of him, plus two of Fox, Hilliard, and Ugoh, just to make the team. It’s nearly impossible that a UDFA could actually provide “help” at the offensive tackle spot.

Of course, the starting roster is thinner in other places, but not by much. The Lions have 77 players on their roster, with 14 of them due to be free agents. With the new camp roster limit of 90, the Lions will be signing twenty-seven players over the coming week or so, and at least half of the resultant 90-man roster won’t even dress for Week 1. There will be an unprecedented number of “new Detroit Lions,” most of whom have almost no chance of impacting the Lions’ season.

When the news broke of the Lions’ agreement to terms with Alabama TE/FB/H-back Preston Dial, longtime commenter/Tweeter @Dustin_aka_D asked me if I knew whether Lions planned to use him as a tight end, or a fullback. @Dustin_aka_D saw the stacked depth chart at TE and wondered what the Lions were planning to do with Dial. Long story short, they plan to bring him into camp and see if he’s an NFL-caliber football player—the same as all these UDFAs.

I've said before that the Lions are going to the playoffs. They see themselves as a playoff team. They have a playoff-caliber roster. The days of the Lions signing a Randy Philips off the street and thinking, “Wow, this guy could upgrade our starting lineup!” are over. It’s not anything against these young men—if Dial proved himself the next Chris Cooley I’d be ecstatic—but a sign of how far the Lions have come in how short of a time.

So. Over the next few hours, let’s heartily welcome our new, young Lions. Let’s wish them a great camp and a successful showing and as long of a career in the NFL as they can muster. But, let’s not burden them—or ourselves, with any kind of expectations about what they’ll be able to contribute to the bottom line.

Technorati Tags: nfl,detroit lions,free agency,undrafted free agents,preston dial

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The NFL Lockout Is Over. What’s Next For the Lions?

In case you haven’t heard, the NFL Lockout is officially—really, truly, and finally—over. Don your silliest party hat, find one of those wheedly flicky-tongue things, pour yourself a pint of your favorite, and turn up “Celebration” by Kool and the Gang.  The NFL lockout is officially over, and football can finally begin . . . well, mostly. Per SI’s obtained copy of the settlement terms, here’s how the timeline breaks down:

• As of midnight tonight (Tuesday AM), players may have full, regular contact with team staff, and use team facilities for voluntary workouts as normal. Teams will be able to trade players currently under contract.
• As of Tuesday at 10:00 AM, teams may sign rookies both drafted and un-. They may begin negotiating with other teams’ free agents.
• The Lions’ training camp will open on Thursday.
• As of Thursday at 4:01 PM, teams may waive or release veterans currently under contract.
• As of Friday at 6:01 PM, teams may renegotiate existing contracts, and sign new veteran contracts. Signed rookies will be able to partake in organized practice at this time, and receive injury protection.
• As of Thursday, August 4th, the new League Year begins [presuming the CBA has been ratified by the players], and all teams must be under the cap.

This sets the stage for the wildest week of football talk in the history of the Internet. In the course of the next five days, the Lions will open their doors, sign all their draft picks, fight all the other clubs to sign ten or so UDFA, begin the chess match of free agent negotiation, start training camp, and THEN sign new veterans as current ones leave, clawing and scrapping with the other 31 teams to get 90 (!) guys on the roster by this time next week.

Meanwhile, the Lions will have to mind their salary cap Ps and Qs: the cap will be set at $120,375,000 with an extra $3M in veteran exceptions. Per Roar Report capologist DeadStroke, the Lions carried ~$127M in cap charges back in March. Much more recently, ESPN’s John Clayton reported that after expected departures, the Lions would have $16.6M of cap room—but the Detroit News’s Chris McCosky wrote last Wednesday that he couldn’t figure out how Clayton found anywhere near that much cap space.

This makes Nnamdi Asomugha a pipe dream—and even the Lions’ reported top target, Johnathan Joseph, a stretch. Besides the rumors of who’s negotiating with who that will hit the wire come Tuesday lunchtime, keep a close watch on Thursday for the release of Lions veterans. Cuts, and whispers of renegotiated contracts for players like Jeff Backus, will hint broadly at the Lions’ approach. Will they be major players for major contributors, or just dipping a finger in the frosting of a rich free agent cake?

For tonight, though, we celebrate! Come down to the blue bonfire, and make yourself at home. The casks of cider are full to bursting, and the blue flame has scarcely roared higher. We’ll toast the return of the team we love, the new players we’re about to welcome, and the glorious new season we’re surely about to go through together. This is our time; this is our year. Money couldn’t stop it, the lawyers couldn’t stop it, and the bickering couldn’t even slow it down. Celebrate with me, friends, together.

Technorati Tags: nfl,nfl lockout,nfl cba,nfl collective bargaining agreement,detroit lions,training camp

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