We’re getting to the point in the offseason where teams start cutting players they no longer want to pay at their existing salary levels. The Raiders kicked off this movement in a big way by releasing longtime starting QB Derek Carr after being unable to trade him.
Carr won’t interest the Lions, not with Jared Goff entrenched as the starter. But there are some other likely salary cap casualties around the NFL who should definitely interest Detroit GM Brad Holmes and the team. Players who are cut provide the extra benefit of not counting against the compensatory draft pick formula for the following year.
Here are a few players who figure to be cap casualties that the Lions will want to look at signing this offseason.
Panthers LB Shaq Thompson
Thompson has been a very productive off-ball backer for the Panthers. He led Carolina with 135 tackles in 2022 and has notched over 100 tackles in each of the last four seasons while also performing well in coverage.
Alas, the Panthers aren’t paying him his $24 million cap hit in 2023. Thompson turns 29 in April and still has a lot to offer athletically. For a team like Detroit that doesn’t really emphasize the off-ball LB position but also needs to get better there, paying a proven commodity like Thompson something in the $5 million-$7 million a year range makes a lot of sense. More sense than paying Alex Anzalone the same to return…
Steelers CB William Jackson
Jackson is a case of a splashy free agent signing that belly-flopped. Entering the final season of a three-year, $40 million contract in Washington, it’s very difficult to envision the Commanders paying him. Jackson was a healthy scratch, then traded to the Steelers–where he never played.
Washington asked Jackson to play against his strengths, namely press-man coverage on the outside. The Lions run the more favorable scheme for Jackson that could return him to his Bengals heyday. The former first-rounder is now 30 and shouldn’t be handed a starting role, but Jackson could earn it on a more team-friendly deal than the one that will get him cut in the coming weeks.
Broncos OL Graham Glasgow
Glasgow left the Lions after the 2019 season, signing a four-year contract in Denver worth $11 million per year on average. The Broncos and new head coach Sean Payton are probably not interested in paying an NFL-average offensive lineman over $9 million in salary in 2023.
Glasgow is an easy plug-and-play replacement for Lions free agent RG Evan Brown — who could very well earn a bigger contract than Glasgow did when he left. With capable starting-level play at both center and right guard, Glasgow would make a smart value signing if he’s willing to return to the Detroit team that drafted him in the third round in 2016.
Rams TE Tyler Higbee
The Rams have some serious cap woes, which means shaving Higbee’s $9.25 million cap obligation makes sense. Higbee has been an important but not irreplaceable cog in the Rams passing offense and is coming off his most productive season with 72 catches and 109 targets.
Signing a familiar veteran tight end like Higbee is a smart option for Holmes and assistant GM Ray Agnew, who were with the Rams when that team drafted Higbee in 2016. Injecting a veteran presence with youngsters Brock Wright and James Mitchell is more sensical than drafting another greenhorn in Detroit. As long as the price is right…
Saints OG Andrus Peat
New Orleans is buried with almost $60 million more in salary obligations than cap room. Dumping Peat, who is due over $18.5 million in both 2023 and 2024, would be an easy way for the Saints to free up some required room.
Peat is a three-time Pro Bowler (2018-2020) at left guard and still just 29 years old. He played under Dan Campbell in New Orleans. Detroit can’t overpay to bring him in, but Peat makes a lot of sense as either a starting guard or the No. 6 OL. Peat has battled injuries the last two seasons and that could keep the price tag down, while also raising the risk of depending upon him in a full-time starting role.
