The Detroit Lions are beginning the new era under GM Brad Holmes and head coach Dan Campbell with ample cap room in the coming year. That is by design. After trading high-priced Matthew Stafford and letting several free agents leave Detroit, the Lions have cut spending on the field for the coming season.
Only the New Orleans Saints are spending less than the Lions in 2021 in terms of current salary cap obligations on the active roster. At just $164.3 million, the Lions are almost $30 million below the league average spending of $191.9 million.
How does that break down by position?
Quarterback: $13.9 million (rank – 15th)
Running back: $5.6 million (30th)
Tight end: $9.9 million (16th)
Wide receiver: $13.7 million (29th)
Offensive line: $33.3 million (18th)
Defensive line: $44.1 million (7th)
Linebacker: $16.8 million (22nd)
Note that Trey Flowers and Romeo Okwara are included with the defensive line. They are expected to switch to rush OLB in the Lions’ new defensive scheme under coordinator Aaron Glenn. Flowers is the team’s highest obligation in 2021, costing the team $19.99 million.
Defensive back: $22.8 million (29th)
Specialist: $4.8 million (20th)
Remember, these figures are the salary cap charge for the team in 2021, not necessarily the salaries being paid to the players. As an example, quarterback Jared Goff counts just $10.65 million against the active cap thanks to the structure of his four-year, $134 million contract he signed with the Los Angeles Rams prior to the 2019 season.
All salary figures are from Spotrac.
