The veteran free agent market has dried up of late. Some of that has to do with the NFL Draft, of course. But there is another reason why teams have been reluctant to sign any veterans still out there to bolster the roster.
Signing free agents before May 8 results in those contracts being factored into the compensatory draft pick formula. Those picks, tacked onto the third thru seventh rounds, are given to teams who have a net loss in free agency spending. In other words, if the contracts of the free agents who left the team are greater than the team spends on free agents coming in, that team earns compensatory picks.
The Lions are unlikely to get any comp picks even if they don’t sign any more free agents. Adding Trey Flowers, Justin Coleman, Jesse James and others greatly outweigh the meager new contracts any 2018 Lions received elsewhere.
For remaining free agents, the compensatory pick “tax” going away after the 8th is a welcome opportunity to get a new deal. That should positively impact veterans still on the market, including ex-Lion Ezekiel Ansah and Ndamukong Suh, the biggest name still out there on the market.
