2022 Lions Off-Season Thread

[Gulf of Brazil]

Sure, but hear me out here.... Devante Adams, Godwin, and Gallup!!!!!!!!!!!

Also, tbh, I've always liked Gallup and wanted him as a Lion when he came out for the draft, but he's nothing more than a WR3 at best except if he were to be a Lion next year............ at least until Bama's Jameson Williams would dethrone his temporary spot atop.

 

[Gulf of Brazil]

All three of those guys are desperate to receive check downs.

Oh, I bet they are.

 

[Mebert]

Also, tbh, I've always liked Gallup and wanted him as a Lion when he came out for the draft, but he's nothing more than a WR3 at best except if he were to be a Lion next year............ at least until Bama's Jameson Williams would dethrone his temporary spot atop.

A WR3 that is behind Cooper and Lamb will always make you wonder how good he can be. Is he only 3 because he is next to those 2, or is he almost as good and just buried.

Edit: Usually here you give an example of both sides of the equation. I apparently have decided to jsut double down on the first point and ignore the alternatives

 

[Gulf of Brazil]

All three of those guys are desperate to receive check downs.

Jared Goff had one of his better games of the season, racking up 296 yards and three touchdowns. He did throw an interception, but he made three big-time throws for a 7.3% big-time throw rate, pending review. While he's often maligned for being a conservative quarterback, Goff found success with that strategy in Week 13: 51% of his passes were short of the sticks. He posted an 8.7-yard average depth of target.

 

[Gulf of Brazil]

A WR3 that is behind Cooper and Lamb will always make you wonder how good he can be. Is he only 3 because he is next to those 2, or is he almost as good and just buried.

and prior to the arrival of Cooper and then Lamb, he was no better than WR2 and that's kind of debatable.
Cole Beasley was ahead of Gallup as far as targets seen, I think.

 

[Gulf of Brazil]

NFL salary cap expected to increase in 2022: How does it impact the Lions?

The NFL salary cap is expected to jump some $26 million for 2022. How does that impact the Detroit Lions?

lionswire.usatoday.com

The new cap figure would give the Lions just under $40 million in actual cap space. The exact figure, per Spotrac, is $39,826,812.

There will be less than that in reality. The cap accounts for the top 51 contracts on the team, but the Lions won’t have 51 players under contract once the season ends. When factoring in the rookie draft picks and players needed to field a 53-man roster, Detroit’s effective cap space drops to $21,107,581, again per Spotrac as of December 6th. The figures are subject to change.

BB_72: not included is money needed for IR replacement (8M) and Practice Squad Player payouts (2.5M). It's not relative in short term of new league year, but it is relative for the long term.

 

[Old Lion]

Lions 2022 UFA is a fairly long list in my opinion and mostly due to lack of talent. However, there are a handful of players that I believe they should re-sign and not in order of preference.

Detroit Lions 2023 NFL Free Agents and Free Agency

Listing all of the 2023 NFL free agents and free agent contracts of the Detroit Lions. Sort free agents by team or position

overthecap.com

S- TW lll
Edge - Charles Harris................. so long as they can get him relatively inexpensively
P - Jack Fox
OL - Tommy Kraemer
FB - Jason Cabinda
C - Evan Brown............................. as he's more than held down the C spot since Ragnow has been injured
LS - Scott Daly
TE - Brock Wright
LB - Anthony Pittman
LB - JRM............. you cannot deny his ST play and at a minimum his ability to play LB in an emergency even though his play has been erratic
LB - Alex Anzalone

Kraemer had 1 good game but then struggled in the next. Pittman has not been great either. The rest I am fine with.

 

[Gulf of Brazil]

Kraemer had 1 good game but then struggled in the next. Pittman has not been great either. The rest I am fine with.

I understand this, but you still need players to fill out top 51 prior to new league year 2022.

Kraemer needs more game day experience and another off-season. Do you remember many of us questioning the play of Crosby in his first two years or even Stenberg not playing one snap on the offensive line last year ?

Pittman is also worthy of another year. Patricia made him gain 20+ pounds to play the jack position. He lost all wight gained and a little bit more this past off-season to get a chance to play as an off-ball LB. He showed promise during pre-season games.

You cannot expect these UDFA's all to come in and play to the level of a starter like Parker and Jacobs have and the jury is still out on both of them.

Should Holmes find replacements for either of these in the off-season then so be it.

 

[Gulf of Brazil]

I think RB G. Igwebuike deserves a futures contract too. He's had limited snaps on offense and shows some potential as a return specialist. He was a former RB in H.S. prior to being converted to S in CFB and then being converted back to RB.

 

[Gulf of Brazil]

This seems odd, but the Texans have waived LB Zach Cunningham. I read a report alleging he was late for meetings. This team is another shit show. And it starts right at the top with ownership and down.

Houston Texans release LB Zach Cunningham | Over the Cap

Houston Texans release LB Zach Cunningham | Over the Cap

overthecap.com

Cunningham did not fit well with the 4-3 Tampa 2 system brought in by new defensive coordinator Lovie Smith for 2021. Cunningham’s snaps continued to drop as the season progressed. Cunningham did see more time on the field during the injury of Christian Kirksey, only to be inactive upon the return of Kirksey.

Cunningham reportedly missed a COVID test prior to the Indianapolis game which led to his inactive status. There has been continued frustration between Cunningham and the organization dating back to training camp. To make matters worse, GM Caserio completed a maximum contract restructure in March to free up 2021 cap dollars for additional free agent acquisitions.


The Texans attempted to trade Cunningham multiple times both during preseason and leading up to the trade deadline during the season. The team could not find any takers. The animosity between the two sides came to a head today with the release.

 

[Gulf of Brazil]

^^^^^

Cunningham will now go through waivers. The contract is very claimable for 2021 with $422k remaining in salary + per game roster bonus pay for the remainder for 2021. However the contract does include a $10 million injury guarantee for 2022, which also vests to a full guarantee on the 5th day of the 2022 league year. The injury guarantee will likely scare teams off making claim. If Cunningham clears waivers he will become a street free agent with the ability to sign with any of the other 31 teams.

 

[Gulf of Brazil]

He was one of the better coverages LB in the league over the last couple of years prior to the new regime coming in.

 

[LionsWhyMe]

He was one of the better coverages LB in the league over the last couple of years prior to the new regime coming in.

Stop drooling... he'd be an upgrade, Lions downgrade.

 

[Gulf of Brazil]

Stop drooling... he'd be an upgrade, Lions downgrade.

I was thinking the same thing until I read, he was bottom 5 in coverage over the last two years. Titans signed him yesterday.

Texans release LB Zach Cunningham, should the Lions have interest?

The Lions will have the opportunity to claim LB Zach Cunningham off waivers, but should they?

lionswire.usatoday.com

• Despite being speedy, he’s been terrible in pass coverage. Cunningham has ranked in the bottom five (among LBs with at least 50 percent snaps played) in each of the last two seasons per Pro Football Focus. And the eye test very much validates the lowly status.
• Utter lack of impact plays. Cunningham has one INT, six sacks and five forced fumbles in five NFL seasons. Lions LB Alex Anzalone has more PDs in the last four games (5) than Cunningham has in his last 24 games played.

 

[LionsWhyMe]

I want no part of any signing of Tier1 or Tier2 players

I would "IF" they've gone the distance, great work ethics, great flim studies and techniques to mentor younger players.

 

[LionsWhyMe]

Whenever the LIONS acquire a reliable NFL QB that has the physical AND mental make-up to get the ball to any of those players, you can count me in.

Jared Goff had one of his better games of the season, racking up 296 yards and three touchdowns. He did throw an interception, but he made three big-time throws for a 7.3% big-time throw rate, pending review. While he's often maligned for being a conservative quarterback, Goff found success with that strategy in Week 13: 51% of his passes were short of the sticks. He posted an 8.7-yard average depth of target.

I'm ready to throw Goff under the Bus... to have one TE and two WR's play in every game isn't all that fair. He did win his first game without Sean McVay.

 

[Gulf of Brazil]

2024 NFL Important Dates | NFL Football Operations

Get an overview of the important NFL dates for the 2024 league year.

operations.nfl.com

Mar. 8	Prior to 4:00 p.m., New York time, deadline for clubs to designate Franchise or Transition Players.
Mar. 14-16	During the period beginning at 12:00 noon, New York time, on March 14 and ending at 3:59:59 p.m., New York time, on March 16, clubs are permitted to contact, and enter into contract negotiations with, the certified agents of players who will become unrestricted free agents upon the expiration of their 2021 player contracts at 4:00 p.m., New York time, on March 16.
	During the above two-day negotiating period, a prospective UFA who is not represented by an NFLPA Certified Contract Advisor is permitted to communicate directly with a new club’s front office officials (excluding the head coach and other members of the club’s coaching staff) regarding contract negotiations.
	No prospective unrestricted free agent is permitted to execute a contract with a new club until 4:00 p.m., New York time, on March 16.
Mar. 16	The 2022 League Year and Free Agency period begin at 4:00 p.m., New York time.
	The first day of the 2022 League Year will end at 11:59:59 p.m., New York time, on March 16. Clubs will receive a Personnel Notice that will include all transactions submitted to the League office during the period between 4:00 p.m., New York time, and 11:59:59 p.m., New York time, on March 16.
Mar. 16	Trading period for 2022 begins at 4:00 p.m., New York time, after expiration of all 2021 contracts.

 

[Mebert]

I like this article. Gives me hope!

The Detroit Lions Have the NFL’s Most Promising Rebuild

The recent play of Amon-Ra St. Brown, the coaching of Dan Campbell, and a number of other positive developments make the future look bright for one of the NFL’s worst teams

www.theringer.com

 

[Gulf of Brazil]

I like this article. Gives me hope!

The Detroit Lions Have the NFL’s Most Promising Rebuild

The recent play of Amon-Ra St. Brown, the coaching of Dan Campbell, and a number of other positive developments make the future look bright for one of the NFL’s worst teams

www.theringer.com

Thoroughly enjoyed reading this article and thank you for posting it.

 

[Gulf of Brazil]

Arrow pointing up on Detroit Lions' Levi Onwuzurike despite disappointing season

Detroit Lions rookie Levi Onwuzurike battled back problems in camp and has one sack, one quarterback hit and two tackles for loss in 15 games in 2021.

www.freep.com

"The biggest thing is we need to continue to improve the lower-body strength and the ability to bend his knees and sink his butt," Wash said. "He needs to get underneath a squat rack and continue to get stronger in his lower body so he can hold up on the pounding that it takes in this league for a defensive lineman. That’s the biggest thing is just lower-body strength and flexibility."