What if We Bring ALL our Key Free Agents Back?

The War Room
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There is a lot of what if, what can we afford and so on here. Good stuff, fun to read and on point. I don’t know our cap situation well but I am in the camp that the Lions MAY be able to afford to bring ALL our key guys back. And if we do this league better watch out.

Chark is the only high-priced free agent on our list. If we keep him the WR group should be excellent in 2023.

Past that NONE of our free agents are break-the-bank guys.:
Jamaal Williams is a great leader but he is a role player and everyone knows it.
DeShon Elliott is a critical re-sign but he is like a guy we had for a season but the Cowboys took a shot on (Jayron Kearse) and that is a low dollar starting level player. Elliott isn’t a break the bank starter.
LBer Alex Anzalone is a solid pro but a non-game breaking LBer. Solid. Starter but not a high priced guy.
I love me some Buggs…but he was a cut we scooped up. A key depth player but NOT a high dollar guy.
Cominsky is a critical guy here but not a game breaker. Like the guys above…a damn solid football player but not a crazy $ guy as he is a critical depth piece on most teams.

If we keep Vaitai Evan Brown is gone. Okay, we can live with that regardless.

Point is…I think is we want a guy back we can likely afford ALL of them. And if we enter 2023 with that group back…this roster has no holes heading into the draft. That is an amazing place to be. The draft is where you sign and keep stars and you develop key depth/rotation guys. Free agency you plug holes and address needs.

If we enter this draft with no holes and THEN add 5 players in the top 90 picks there will be a new NFC North division winner in 2023.

We all know where we can get better in 2023. DT…and this draft is loaded with DT talent. Carter, Bresee (I think one of these guys ends up a Lion ) OR…Gervon Dexter. All those guys would be excellent here.

At CB…hell maybe we add CB Devon Witherspoon AND Breese? Or a Brian Branch AND CB Christian Gonzalez and Dexter in rd. 2? We likely add a RB and this draft is STACKed at RB! We can add a killer C/G…say John Michael Schmitz in rd. 2?

Say we draft DT Carter, CB Christian Gonzales, C/G Schmitz and RB Jaymyr Gibbs in the first two rounds of the draft (maybe picking a player you like more?). We STILL have a 3rd rd. pick still too! Maybe we add a LB in rd. 3? Maybe a guy like Daiyan Henley is there (I am really starting to like this guy).

Point is IF we keep our guy THEN add a crop like that folks we are in business. Serious business.
DL depth…check
RB depth…check
WR depth…check
OL depth…check
LBer depth…filled with serious competition…check
CB depth…not quite what I like but adding a Christian Gonzalez level talent would be VERY nice.
Safety…with Elliott, Walker, Kirby Joseph and maybe a 5th rd. rookie with CJ Moore…yep, I’ll take that.
OLBer/Edge has serious talent with Hutch, Romeo closer to full strength, Houston, Charles Harris and Julian Okwara. VERY good.

Only Chark is a high-priced free agent. IF we flll holes with our guys we know and then add 5 quality players AND a couple guys in the 5th and 6th rounds man, I am ready to see us take the North!!!

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I agree with slight adjustment but I have feeling thats way off season will go . I don’t see big splash move in FA

I would say Elliott could be biggest FA to sign he may ask for way to much.

I have the following I would like resigned Buggs Cominsky Chark Elliott, Williams

I would like to sign two FA not huge deals Colts Okereke LB He shouldn’t be to costly. check him out Ravens Ben Powers OG
Attlanta Byron Murphy

Add those to are own FA an we are looking very good going into draft.

we will add more depth but not huge cap hits.

We can turn CB room into a strength with couple draft picks

We have a CB most have ignored we added late to PS an now keeping him Jarren Williams He might be only guy who can keep up to J Williams

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I hate “maybes”. Unless there is very little doubt that a player is an upgrade, don’t be cheap.
Chark, Anzalone, Elliott, Buggs, Commish, Brown, have proven their value.
Spend the money on the known culture fit(s) that will step in and play quality football.
This is not Fantasy Football. I want a Super Bowl, not a team in a perpetual rebuild.

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much rather have Brown than Vaitai. Especially given Raggs toe issue

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Off season plan per J Rogers at dnews
Releases:
Big V
Brockers
C Harris
Cephus
Stenberg
Should dbl cap space

Tags & Tenders
0 Tenders
Tag
B Jones
Wright
Zylstra
Reynolds
Pittman
Daly
Kraemer
Total of tags 6.5m

In house FA resigned:
Alex A 2yrs 10m 5.5 guarranteed
Buggs 1yr 2.5m
Chark 1yr 10m probably outbid but with injury history it’s a gamble for multi year. Value in the connection he and Goff started to show when he was healthy at the end.
Comminsky 3yr 18m 10m guarranteed
J Williams 2yr 9m 4.5m guarranteed. Signing comes with risk. His energy and culture fit are positive to team. performance has positives and some negatives. He is a workhorse, yet, not a thoroughbred, pay him accordingly.
CJ Moore 1yr 1.23m
J Woods 1yr 2.4 with qualifying player benefit(cap hit is only 1.2)

Evan Brown, tough case with the pay bump he will probably get
D Elliott Joseph and Walker will get most of the snaps where does paying time come from. FRM not sure I agree with this but not sure what Elliott would want in $$
W Harris/M Hughes depends on the price

FA to explore
D Payne See what the asking price is
J Reed/ Rankin/Onyemata
TE OJ Howard, M Williams, I Smith all dual threat TE
OG Lindstrom is a big swing, draft may be better
DB T Hill, C Sutton, I Oliver

Draft
Don’t discount trade up for Carter/Anderson
Same for small trade down
No qb at 6, maybe 18 or later in draft depend on who is there
Probably DL per Holme’s comments maybe Murphy or Breese
18 DB pick your poison
2nd rd, RB and LB or follow board what is there

Extensions
Okudah; decline perhaps resign for better value
J Jackson Could get pricy where/what is the line for OG value for Holmes should draft one as we also have Sewell coming soon and big $ to FR and TD.
Goff Better to wait and see what 2023 looks like. No rush, yet, $$ for QB go up every year, where will it be in 24?

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Overall I like most of what Rogers had. He is going for continuity with the resignings on the D side especially on the line. He is looking at what is coming for the OL and dollars spent there which several have mentioned in the Den. The WR question Chark and draft, does that equal Reynolds being let go for a small additional cap saving, taken up by Chark and some.

While some, one in particular @JD9, refuse to pay anyone but the elite of the elite the current QB rate which I do understand, yet it doesn’t deal with current nfl reality. That isn’t calling out JD9 or personal against his thought process, just where I see the reality of QB pay scale being.

The $35m-40m QB APY, in the very near future, will be the norm; are we already there? The cap going up up up up over the next few years, that day is coming.

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Chark
Elliott

Keeping these two, then cutting Brockers should get us there alone.

Chark 4 years 45 million. 12 mil SB
Elliott 3 years 27 million. 9 mil SB

Cap hits total about 8mil to 10mil next year .

Guys that will likely need to give home town discount to stay

Brown
W Harris
Anzalone

Role players must keep, should affordable

Cominsky
Hughes
Board
Buggs
Jamaal

Guys that can sign elsewhere = we upgrade

Amani O
Sudfeld

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Comminsky is one to watch imo.
8 teams put in a waiver claim for him with the Lions winning the claim last year. Now, he has a lot more film for other teams to view/study and go, yep, that claim of ours was correct.

I know he has publicly stated he wants to stay in Detroit, maybe for team friendly deal, however, what happens if someone offers more years or 1m more than Detroit. Chicago has a ton of cap dollars and it is a dbl win for them, help their team hurt Detroit. Just a hypothetical.

I want him back in Detroit, he wants to be there, but you never know what happens when offers start to come in to a player. This contract could be your last do you take less for your future/family to stay with a team you love and still make significantly more. Or take the money.
Another time will tell situation for me.

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I would want to see what the contract terms are in your Chark deal before being happy with it. I would like him back due to the connection that he and Goff showed in the last month or so and allows JW to continue to acclimate and improve. Yet, injury history is still a concern.

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Hypothetically mimicking what MVS got and bumping it a year and few bucks should be fair

2023 1 mil + 12mil SB = 13 cash 4 mil cap hit
2024 9
2025 10
2026 13

Fair and reasonable. By the time he’s about done it’ll be time to reup Jamo

If he goes for Christian Kirk money to Chicago, then let him walk take our comp pick

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Yet someone posted the expected market vslue for each of our pending free agents and Chark was cheaper than Elliot and Brown

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Alex Anzalone seems to be a little expensive. I am not sure I bring him back at that price, IMO, as one good half season does not have me convinced he can keep that level of play up.

I also would be shocked if Chark had to settle for another 1 year prove it deal, and if he did why would it be with us? I could see him coming back on a multi year deal with us, but if its a prove it deal he will sign somewhere he will have more opportunity.

The rest of his re-signings are probably really close.

Also, Chris Lindstrom is not a FA this year.

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is it really loaded with DT? im not being facetious. I’m seriously asking. Gervon has the slowest get off I’ve ever did see from a DT.

And I find it a bit sad that no one is as hyped about JL Skinner as me. :pensive:

but I agree I think next season will be exciting.

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Yes unless they get an unbelievable opportunity , they deserve a fair market value or even raises as being perhaps most valuable to the lions -
More valueable next year than going with an unknown plus the potential to be even better with more continuity. Win now philosophy , can’t risk early games like last season

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Breese is a little more intriguing to me now than a month ago. After hearing about the injury add in Covid items and loss of a sibling in that timeline iirc, and mentally I can understand why his play may have suffered.

I know it’s a risk but there may be some legitimate explanations and upside forthwith.

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I love Skinner - I think he will be a big upgrade from Elliott. I do think we need to resign Eliott but over time I would like to see Skinner work him out of a starting job.

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This post to me is an extension of keeping the band together. IF we can find a way to plug these roster holes with out own guys this team has a shot at being really, really good in 2023.

Chark, Jamaal Williams and Cominsky are must re-signs.

Evan Brown V. Vaitai is more interesting. hen healthy Brown is not a better ROG than Vaitai. Some other team is likely to pay Brown more than we can pay him and I see Brown as gone BUT…we have Tommy Kraemer already and a back up center is possible to find.

Elliott is a must re-sign to me because I think we can make Tracy Walker the new Will Harris when Tracy is healthy. That way we can play Tracy, Kirby AND Elliott is what would be a solid three safety scheme. I don’t think Elliott is going to get more than J. Kearse overall.

Buggs is a MUST re-sign depth DT too.

FRM710 thinks the way I am thinking about Bresee; this kid intrigues me in BIG way. Killer player as a true freshman. ACL injury in 2021 after a couple games. Sister dies in 2022, kidney infection and strep in 2022. That is TOUGH and directly affects conditioning too. How good might this kid be? My guess is he is better than his numbers indicate AND, after a terrible luck 2022 he still played a lot of games and appears healthy now.

Buggs allows Bresee to be a pass rush guy first, early in the season IF Carter is off the draft board. Then rebuild the CB position group. Add a (hopefully) excellent draft class again to the returning vets and this team is dangerous in 2023!

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interesting thought. I think its interesting the hype and popular need for a nickel back but as you type this out about walker I can see that as a pretty decent fit. I also begin to wonder if the will Harris role is what iffy has been groomed for all along.

I like him on the bigger receivers.

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