Nailed it. That makes the point much better than I tried.
Why not everyone?
Montgomery >>> Williams, etc.
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You know despite what everyone says about you… I think you are a pretty smart guy 
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Who we moving on from?! I ask seriously. I LOVE your idea on paper but who is Brad walking away from?
Skipper? I can see him getting cut but not even being in camp?
Iffy? I can see the Lions being tired of injuries but when he plays he brings it. Hard to imagine the Lions walking away from him.
Craig Reynolds? Low dollar guy who plays his role well?
Muhammad? Guy played well for us as a 5th DE guy who is likely a veteran minimum guy. Not even being asked to come to camp?
Carlton Davis? High dollar guy I get. Brad maybe doesn’t want a bidding war but I bet Brad tries hard to bee-sign him.
Zeitler? Dude did everything we asked him to do and he wants to win.
Vildor? Hell…should he a camp body.
Tim Patrick? Like Josh Reynolds getting big bucks I get. I believe Brad at least tried to sign the guy, right?
Years past the roster churn as real and necessary. Now? Unnecessary noting 90+ players will be on the field in June so yes, lots of guys will get a shot. But this is a winning core group of maybe 40 guys right now. The cap space is likely there so bring it back again. With this core locked down there are no clear holes noting Alim is healing still. Depth concerns? Always.
Carlton Davis will be worth his contract a dude can play. Zeitler will be worth his contract as he can play. Levi can play and on and on. Years past this was a major concern. TALENT isn’t an issue anymore. Health is an issue but not talent. Not anymore.
If guys sign for more than Brad wants to pay cool. I get that. That is the sign of a great roster. Most of our 2025 concerns are depth guys. Licker room guys. Only three guys will get well above minimum:
Davis, Levi and Zeitler and I think they are all likely to be back.
I think Davis may be this years version of players Holmes won’t overpay. At the right price, sure!
Levi may be too. Both guys are talented but have long injury histories which paying a ton of money to is risky as ■■■■ IMO.
Iffy should be cheap so he may be back. But also a goner if some team offers him any real money.
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If a player exceeds what Brad wants to pay him I get it. Josh Reynolds.
This year is different though. The Lions don’t NEED any of Davis, Zeitler, Levi, Patrick, Iffy and on and on. Brad can find a way.
I don’t feel like value is going to be a mystery this free agency period.
Davis will get paid #1 CB money.
Zeitler was a bargain for us but he is old and wants to win.
Levi hasn’t played great ball for long periods of time. He is 27 soon. Likely a short-term prove it deal here.
Josh Reynolds was a bust for the Broncos. A stupid signing at that price. Tim Patrick will be 32 I believe. If he is a big dollar guy…good for him but it ain’t here.
Barnes might be a higher dollar guy too but he also hasn’t played great ball for long periods of time. Hard to see a team going crazy for Barnes, even the Jets.
Only Davis and Zeitler are clear starters. If Holmes wants to keep them he has the resources to do just that.
Everyone else is a role player overall and not likely to be a Josh Reynolds situation.
Levi had serious back issues. Iffy had missed a ton of games. Tim Patrick is 32 soon and has his own injury issues. Zeitler is 35 in March. Barnes hasn’t really arrived yet.
Those guys likely gave more value here than another team pulling a “let’s sign Josh Reynolds to a two year $9 million contract” situation. Josh also just turned 30 and doesn’t have a crazy injury history.
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| Re-sign | Player |
|---|---|
| * | Davis, Carlton |
| * | Dorsey, Khalil |
| * | Vildor, Kindle |
| Melifonwu, Ifeatu | |
| Davenport, Marcus | |
| * | Cominsky, John |
| O’Connor, Pat | |
| * | Muhammad, Al-Quadin |
| Onwuzurike, Levi | |
| * | Williams, Jonah |
| Peko, Kyle | |
| Badgley, Michael | |
| Barnes, Derrick | |
| * | Niemann, Ben |
| * | Turner, Zeke |
| Alexander, Kwon | |
| * | Zeitler, Kevin |
| * | Skipper, Dan |
| Bridgewater, Teddy | |
| * | Patrick, Tim |
| Robinson, Allen | |
| * | Adams, Myles |
| * | Pittman, Anthony |
| * | Awosika, Kayode |
| * | Reynolds, Craig |
| * | Zylstra, Shane |
| * | Agude, Mitchell |
| * | Nowaske, Trevor |
| * | Niese, Michael |
| * | Galvin, Connor |
Josh was actually doing decent until he got shot in the head outside a strip club at 3am… Wish I was kidding. Amazing he is alive.
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The one guy that knows Barnes’ ability is AG, he is a head coach now and is willing to bank his coaching reputation on Barnes, that saids a lot. AG is the same guy that created a position to keep Barnes on the field in 2024 after Barnes came off of knee surgery in 2023. That speaks volumes as to how Barnes handles recovery from surgery, there was no difference in his play to be noted even though SAM linebacker is out of position for him, he is a natural MIKE linebacker, and you will see that when he goes to the JETS. Barnes was the 5th best rated linebacker in the NFL per PFF with a rating of 85.5 while exclusively playing the MIKE for the first five games in 2023.
Also see the video “RIGHT PLACE, RIGHT TIME”- Derrick Barnes produced a masterpiece in week-2 of the 2024 season. You will also see in that video Barnes was able to avoid an injury from a chop block while making a tackle in that game, very interesting.
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I personally think getting new faces is pretty good idea. When a team is trying to make the next level
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He can re-sign whoever he wants or needs to…. The cap is going up faster than the amount of quality players available is.
Would I pay more than 16M for more than 2 years for CD3? No…. If it was a deal where we could pay 10M in 25’, 15M 26’ and have a small dead cap hit in 27’ if we parted ways…. Sure.
No I would not pay Levi starter money for 2-3 years with decent guarantees as I don’t want him starting.
This team needs 2 really good starting 2 DTs, 2 really good starting LBs, 2 really good starting DEs, and 2 really good starting CBs… in order to make a confident SB run in 2025-2026
Hutch- check
Z Smith- temp solution
Alim- check
Reader- temp solution
Campbell- check
Anzalone- temp solution
Arnold- check
Robertson- temp solution
I’m okay with, but don’t love our LB2, CB2, DE2, and DT2 situations in 25’ and beyond and that’s further compounded at DT due to Alims injury recovery timeframe…
Free Agency-
—BJ Hill- he’s my #1 FA DT as he will be cheaper and better against the run than Milton and Osa, he’s more proven and reliable than Levi, and he’s more versatile vs the pass than SDJ or DJ Jones.
—Poona Ford is my DT2 in FA as he’s a monster against the run, and he got some chops against the pass, but I think his height limits him a bit more situationally and I think he will be more expensive than BJ, but I’d still take him for sure.
—Osa Odigizuwa- interior flamethrower, but cost will be high, and he’s a liability against the run most weeks.
—M Williams- could be the ideal DT3 as he was in Philly, but the cost will likely be too steep, and the draft appears bountiful for this role… his run D is bad.
—Levi O- I think the familiarity with the locker room is a plus, but I think he will be signing a pseudo “prove it deal” and want Lions share snap opportunity, or he will get lucky and get a 3 year 24M plus type deal and have to take it. Unless there is virtually no market for him, I can’t see him back. I don’t want him to be relied on as our DT1 for the first 6-8 plus weeks, nor do I want to see him as my 2026 starter next to Alim. I’d prefer to give his money to Zietler and lock up a spot with an 80 plus grade starter vs hoping Levi continues to improve and stay healthy.
Draft DT2—
Walter Nolan- could easily be an Osa plus level pass rusher from the inside, but has far better upside vs the run.
Derrick Harmon- if he tests as well as I expect, it becomes a question of character fit and motor… when he’s on he has the size and moves like Chris Jones.
Darius Alexander/Elijah Roberts- guys I expect to see in later round 3-4 range with upside to easily be that Milton Williams type role…
Draft NT1/2-
K Grant- I think if he’s there in late round 1, he gives us Reader 2.0 under age 22 with a cheap 5 year price tag.
Alfred Collins- a monster vs the run, and a perfect compliment to Alim the next few years on 1st and 2nd down. He could spell Reader, then replace him.
Tyliek Williams- I think he will test well, and he moves very fluid for his size. The combo of he and Alim would be tough to run on, but could also produce a combined 8-9 sacks a year inside.
Deone Walker- I defer to CH or That’s2, but he could be intriguing. He’s Shaun Roger’s size, but does he have a better motor? what he did in 23’ was impressive, but wjat happened in 24’?
—- what about a combination of BJ Hill or Levi and Alfred Collins… or maybe Derrick Harmon and Poona Ford. Either could be a sick 4 man rotation by year end.
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I know people like Timmy P
But we need a long term answer at X
Been banging the table for WR for a bit in the draft. We only have ARSB and Jamo for long term rn (And lil leaf until the wheel starts to fall off)
We need something longterm for the X spot, and there are alot of good WR3s in this draft
No offense but why? Because the offense was bad? If we decide not to keep Jamo, or if someone gets injured that makes sense. But this isn’t a bad offense. It is an offense hopefully built around the O line. It seems like this doesn’t have to be a position demanding a long term fix over some of the other needs.
I think Holmes will draft a WR this year.
There is no depth or developmental players in the organization.
Add to that Jamo will likely be on a $15M 5th year option in 2026 and will cost in excess of $20M AAV for an extension.
But before you get to the draft.Holmes will fill out the holes in the roster.
Patrick is the best option to fill the big bodied X WR3 role available.
I think he is back unless some team offers him WR2 money.
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You do realize they signed Big Mac to A big deal to be there 3t . You really seem to be pigeon holing players you like and not so much fit.
The cap has gone up a little more than expected…
but it certainly didn’t catch NFL GMs or agents by surprise.
The salaries of the top players has gone up just as fast as the cap has grown…. and that is where the bulk of the cap gets spent. Many teams will have ~25% of the cap tied up with the QB and WR1.
In 2026… Lions have almost 2/3 of the projected cap allotted to only 6 players… and that doesn’t include Hutch and Jamo.
There was only 1 WR contract of $23 million AAV before 2022… and it was an extension signed by D-Hop that actually was for 2023 and 2024 seasons (and paid him a SB in 2020).
Now… there are 16 WRs with AAV over $23 million…
before Chase and Higgins get paid.
.
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I’m not putting McNeill out to pasture in any sense brother Mouse, but I have a better understanding of contracts and cap management than most in here… imho-
Alim McNeill had about 12M in cap hits in 24-25’ and only 6M in dead cap next year. In essence if we cut Alim it would have cost us about 18M in total cap for his usage in 24-25’ seasons. Pretty good deal right?
Then he costs nearly 30M in 26, 27, and 28’
Again I’m not suggesting we will or even should consider moving on…. I’m just saying Reader is a declining 31 year old, and Alim might miss much of a very important season.
We were giving meaningful snaps to Pat Connor and Myles F-ing Adams brother. They can’t happen again.
The Eagles went to a SB on 2022 with…
Hargrave
F Cox
M Williams
J Davis
L Joseph
The Eagles won the SB in 2024 with…
J Carter
M Williams
M Williams
Booker
Ojomo
My guess is in 2025 they either sign M Williams back and draft somebody mid rounds or draft somebody like Harmon high to replace him.
We have one old NT in his final year and a broken 3T at the moment.
Why don’t we need help?
Damn…so, stay in your lane Mouse…let the experts deal with it.
LOL
just having fun with it…
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