Where can we possibly save money?

The War Room Detroit Lions — The Den
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Jared Goff QB $25,325,000 - $2,500,000 - - - - ($43,325,000) $27,825,000 14.07
Trey Flowers DE $14,375,000 $5,614,000 - - - - - ($31,217,000) $19,989,000 10.10
Desmond Trufant CB $9,500,000 $2,500,000 $187,500 - - - - ($6,000,000) $12,187,500 6.16
Jamie Collins OLB $8,800,000 $2,333,333 - - $200,000 - - ($11,666,666) $11,333,333 5.73
Justin Coleman CB $8,950,000 $2,029,000 - - $50,000 - - ($6,087,000) $11,029,000 5.58
Halapoulivaati Vaitai RT $9,000,000 $1,400,000 - - - - - ($14,600,000) $10,400,000 5.26
Jeff Okudah CB $780,000 $5,486,099 $1,354,025 - - - - ($16,458,297) $7,620,124 3.85
Jesse James TE $4,950,000 $1,429,000 - - $50,000 - - ($4,287,000) $6,429,000 3.25
Nick Williams DT $4,100,000 $1,000,000 $400,000 - $200,000 - - ($1,000,000) $5,700,000 2.88
T.J. Hockenson TE $850,000 $3,108,859 $1,621,930 - - - - ($11,712,542) $5,580,789 2.82
Chase Daniel QB $4,300,000 $750,000 $250,000 - - - - ($3,000,000) $5,300,000 2.68
Danny Shelton DT $4,000,000 $1,250,000 - - - - - ($1,250,000) $5,250,000 2.65
Taylor Decker LT $1,000,000 $1,500,000 - - - $2,400,000 - ($33,750,000) $4,900,000 2.48
Christian Jones OLB $3,170,000 $492,500 $280,000 $600,000 $200,000 - - ($2,185,000) $4,742,500 2.40
Frank Ragnow C $2,086,383 $1,661,846 - - - - - ($1,661,846) $3,748,229 1.89
Joe Dahl G $2,675,000 $250,000 $150,000 - $50,000 - - ($250,000) $3,125,000 1.58
Kerryon Johnson RB $1,366,867 $702,490 - - - - - ($702,490) $2,069,357 1.05
D’Andre Swift RB $998,132 $942,530 - - - - - ($5,211,987) $1,940,662 0.98
Jahlani Tavai ILB $1,071,724 $758,449 - - $50,000 - - ($1,516,898) $1,880,173 0.95
Tracy Walker FS $920,000 $220,497 - - - - - ($220,497) $1,140,497 0.58
Julian Okwara DE $833,946 $285,784 - - - - - ($857,352) $1,119,730 0.57
Will Harris SS $850,000 $238,061 - - $30,000 - - ($476,122) $1,118,061 0.57
Da’shawn Hand DE $920,000 $170,491 - - - - - ($170,491) $1,090,491 0.55
Jonah Jackson G $828,035 $262,140 - - - - - ($786,420) $1,090,175 0.55
Austin Bryant DE $850,000 $182,459 - - - - - ($364,918) $1,032,459 0.52
Tyrell Crosby LT $920,000 $71,923 - - - - - ($71,923) $991,923 0.50
Geronimo Allison WR $990,000 $137,500 - - - - $150,000 - $987,500 0.50
Logan Stenberg G $780,000 $185,410 - - - - - ($556,230) $965,410 0.49
Amani Oruwariye CB $850,000 $80,526 - - - - - ($161,053) $930,526 0.47
Victor Bolden WR $920,000 - - - - - - - $920,000 0.47
Shaun-Dion Hamilton OLB $920,000 - - - - - - - $920,000 0.47
Romeo Okwara DE - $901,668 - - - - - ($901,668) $901,668 0.46
Nick Bawden FB $850,000 $21,051 - - - - - ($21,051) $871,051 0.44
Quintez Cephus WR $780,000 $76,072 - - - - - ($228,216) $856,072 0.43
C.J. Moore FS $850,000 $2,334 - - - - - ($2,334) $852,334 0.43
Russell Bodine C $990,000 - - - - - - - $850,000 0.43
David Blough QB $850,000 - - - - - - - $850,000 0.43
Evan Brown C $850,000 - - - - - - - $850,000 0.43
Dan Skipper T $850,000 - - - - - - - $850,000 0.43
Kevin Strong DT $850,000 - - - - - - - $850,000 0.43
John Penisini DT $780,000 $42,794 - - - - - ($128,382) $822,794 0.42
Jashon Cornell DE $780,000 $21,133 - - - - - ($63,399) $801,133 0.40
Hunter Bryant TE $780,000 $6,666 - - - - - ($13,334) $786,666 0.40
John Atkins DT $780,000 - - - - - - - $780,000 0.39
Godwin Igwebuike S $780,000 - - - - - - - $780,000 0.39
Tom Kennedy WR $780,000 - - - - - - - $780,000 0.39
Anthony Pittman LB $780,000 - - - - - - - $780,000 0.39
Matthew Wright K $780,000 - - - - - - - $780,000 0.39
Jalen Elliott S $660,000 - - - - - - - $660,000 0.33
Robert McCray LB $660,000 - - - - - - - $660,000 0.33
Hunter Thedford TE $660,000 - - - - - - - $660,000 0.33
Active Roster: $132,970,087 $36,114,615 $6,743,455 $600,000 $830,000 $2,400,000 $150,000 - $179,378,157 90.68
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Greet posts focus this topic given it’s probably the single most important thing we can do in the next month outside of properly scouting the draft prospects as much as humanly possible.

I have cross referenced this data a few places, so I would assume it’s mostly accurate

Trufant- 6.5
Coleman- just under 5.0
James- 2.4
N Williams- 4.7
Daniel- 2.3

  • that is 19.0M- and that is without any type of restructure.

So these moves alone would open up about 20M total. I don’t know that many teams can cut that much fat that produced that little impact. Half those goes were I drafted free agents with less than 10 starts in the league when we have them terrible deals.

  • Danny Shelton would also save 4M but he’s still young enough, and aside from a down year on a new team that was so dysfunctional that it fired its HC and GM and DC, I’d roll the dice again here. I’m not saying we can’t improve, but he’s been above 71 pff rating most of his career, he has ideal size for a NT and first round pedigree. The natural talent is there. I just don’t see a 1 year solution that is surely both cheaper and better in 2021- and he’s a 5.8M in cap savings in 2022… I don’t mind Shelton and Penisini in rotation at NT if we can get a difference maker at DE/DT next to them on both sides.
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What about Jesse James?

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We save 2.4M for a guy who serves little purpose. I’d prefer using a 5th to replace him and be 2.0M to the good.

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Restructuring Flowers, paying $12m of his 2021 salary as a new bonus, cuts his 2021 cap hit down to about $12m from the near $20m it is today.

If we cut him after 2021, we realize the other $8m on the 22 cap.

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As Deadstroke ( the Cap Guru cited by and in some cases back in the day, stolen from mainstream.sports journos) has said that we will also likely do a simple restructure with Goff as well.

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What would that restructure look like?

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Could pretty easily free up any where from 10 to 15 million this year.

2021 salary is 25m w 4 years on contract.

Chop out for easy math sake 16m of that and pay as a bonus. Same cash to Goff, but the 16m gets spread as 4m a year cap hit across the 4 years, which drops his 2021 cap number by 12m.

Make leaving him by the side of the road after 22 8m more expensive though as you are simply deferring cap hit timing.

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Here’s the potential savings through cuts that are 2 mil or more:

Player Savings Cap number Dead money
Matt Stafford $14,000,000 $33,000,000 $19,000,000
Desmond Trufant $6,187,500 $12,187,500 $6,000,000
Justin Coleman $4,942,000 $11,029,000 $6,087,000
Nicholas Williams $4,650,000 $5,650,000 $1,000,000
Danny Shelton $4,000,000 $5,250,000 $1,250,000
Joe Dahl $2,843,750 $3,093,750 $250,000
Christian Jones $2,557,278 $4,742,720 $2,185,442
Chase Daniel $2,300,000 $5,300,000 $3,000,000
Tracy Walker $2,183,000 $2,403,497 $220,497
Tyrell Crosby $2,183,000 $2,254,921 $71,921
Jesse James $2,142,000 $6,429,000 $4,287,000

Dahl, Walker, Crosby and James are probably safe.

So, Stafford’s gone already, leaving Trufant and Coleman as likely cap casualties. Shelton and Williams might also get the hook. Jones and Daniel are there, but do you save enough to bother cutting them?

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31m of new space with cutting just Trufant and Williams, and simple restructures of Goff and Flowers.

So anywhere from 20 to mid 40s cap space created this offseason depending on the borderline guys.

Again, without materially affecting the performance of the team…

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How the balls do we have zero money and zero talent? BQ did such a great job… thanks jackass.

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NFL teams are allowed to designate up to 2 players as Post June 1st cuts and cut them immediately in the new league year. This allows teams to spread the hit over two years, allows the team substantial cap savings the first year, and allows the player to take advantage of the initial free agency period when teams have the most to spend.

Designating Jesse James in this manner saves the Lions 5 million against this years salary cap. If they were to designate Coleman as well, at 9 million, it saves 14 million this year.

This gives the team leverage in a renegotiation while the player doesn’t get screwed by missing the best free agency period. I suspect they will try to renegotiate Coleman. Jesse and James, however, is likely Toast

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Using the June-1 designation would make cutting James and Daniel more appealing, however, they could do that for Trufant and Coleman for even greater savings.

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Is there any way to potentially save money from or cut loose V? This is such a cap killer for literally nothing.

God, how did Quinn ever get a job as a talent evaluator? I wouldn’t let him make my drunk choice of Taco Bell or del taco let alone who to spend millions on.

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We can free up 60 million dollars with cuts…and many of them do not impact the W/L collumn…there would be dead money for next year but that would also free up the following year:

https://www.detroitlionspodcast.com/ash-thompson/2021/01/25/detroit-lions-purge-matthews-stafford/

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I can see 40 easily with the top 5 in my post above. Each cut after the top 5 offers negligible savings. To get over 40 requires trade partners. Considering almost all teams are wrestling with cap issues this year, imagining we’re going to get trade partners for the likes of Collins and Vaitai is more than I can do.

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Nope. Not for Trufant. Coleman yes, Trufant no.

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Nevermind. Didn’t notice this was a final year with no option year.

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Not really. Vaitai just finished the first year of a 5 yr 45m brutal contract and the cap hit is 10.4 this year with 9 salary and 1.4 signing bonus credit.

His dead cap to cut is 14.6m as 20m of his contract is guaranteed, so no funny shifty games with the cut.

I don’t know if you can given his contract guarantees and however the NFL handles that, but we could ask to do a restructure and say make $8m of his salary signing bonus, which would let us realize only 4.4 against the cap this yr (1 salary 1.4 old bonus, 2 new bonus) but if we cut him after that, it’s 10m dead cap for 22.

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2022 is season you can cut V but lets see when healthy how he does.
Remember he got injured running the hill that MP thought was such a great idea.
He never recovered more an more is coming out about some of the crap that was going on.
He at worse will be expensive back up until 2022 then he is a easy cap cut if you want him gone.

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