Appreciate the reply. Not the cap expert and haven’t dove into it much so just seeking to understand options.
Edit to add that a key component of being successful after paying key players is good drafting and I am extremely confident this staff will continue to funnel in the talent
Yes
And this is why you draft and develop continually.
2 DL getting paid big
2 Safeties.
3 OL
1 WR
QB
Probably Jah.
Maybe Jamo.
Maybe SLaP
Monty and AA and the 2 guards are getting 2.5-3.5% cap money each, oops Reader too.
Thats easy 75% of your cap. Nahh, 80.
Need. More. Beans.
Didn’t stop they from signing ARSB (4th round pick) to a top of the market deal. Kerby will be in the same boat… The Lions take care of their players and Kerb is a stud.
And that is why I think all this chatter around getting Crosby or even Garrett is fanciful.
The lions have a clear enough strategy when it comes to trades and FA. While both are elite talents I can’t see them shifting from a clear strategy which is working to take a big swing which would preclude us from keeping our in house talent.
I think Carlton Davis was a great addition this off season but I think we let him walk and take the 3rd or 4th round compensatory pick and lock Kerby up. I think the same logic will apply for the edge across from Hutch over the next few years - a draft and develop guy or a savvy mid tier plus vet on short term deals.
Your nick-naming (the original Dollar Store Thor author, if I’m not mistaken) is Gruden-esque.
Hope you’re right. Who do you see walking then? Who is the next Jonah Jackson? Guys like Levi, Zeitler, Barnes and Iffy all free agents this offseason.
Davis is the big one I think walks. He’s getting a serious bag. Played very well for us.
Probably decker and ragnow retiring, davis leaving, zsmith gone, reader and anzalone either extended for lower or gone
All before the real money kicks in for hutch, joseph, branch, etc
That is how i see it working but i am also not a cap guru like dead, just see timing of the financial commitments actually lining up pretty well.
Maybe disner and holmes actually know what they are doing and will be able to keep most of their guys 
Good point some expensive guys will be coming off the cap in a few years. Gotta keep crushing the draft. Guys are cheap for 3 or 4 years.