WIth the legal tampering period less than 2 weeks away, I figured now is a good time to see where everyone stands on our own upcoming FA class. Below is a list of all of our FA’s this off-season. What do you think the Lions will do with these guys?
Here are the Lions’ UFAs:
QB Nate Sudfeld (not re-signed)
G/C Evan Brown (not re-signed)
EDGE Austin Bryant (not re-signed)
LB Alex Anzalone (not re-signed)
LB Chris Board (not re-signed)
CB Mike Hughes (not re-signed)
CB Amani Oruwariye (not re-signed)
S DeShon Elliott (not re-signed)
S C.J. Moore (not re-signed)
RB Jamaal Williams (re-signed)
RB Justin Jackson (re-signed)
WR DJ Chark (re-signed)
OT Dan Skipper (re-signed)
DT Isaiah Buggs (re-signed)
EDGE John Cominsky (re-signed)
LB Josh Woods (re-signed)
CB Will Harris (re-signed)
K Michael Badgley (re-signed)
Here are the Lions’ three RFAs:
OT Matt Nelson (not tendered)
C Ross Pierschbacher (not tendered)
DB Bobby Price (not tendered, signed to vet minimum)
Exclusive rights free agents (7)
ALL WILL BE BACK
RB Craig Reynolds
TE Brock Wright
TE Shane Zylstra
G Tommy Kraemer
DT Benito Jones
LB Anthony Pittman
LS Scott Daly
I personally think Jamaal Williams, Cominsky, Woods, and Harris are locks to be back. Jamaal and Cominsky were brought in by this staff and are EXACTLY the kind of guys this staff loves. Neither are going to be very expensive and both have openly stated how much they would love to be back. Hell Jamaal is still talking like he is already on this team next year. To me its not even a question. Woods was our ST captain last year and one of the better special teams players in the league. Fipp is back so Im sure he will want his ST captain back as well and he will come cheap. Harris is only a lock because of the veteran salary exemption rule, IMO. He is the only guy eligible worth bringing back and there is no benefit to not using it.
I went back and forth on Elliot. I like him, but how much does this staff? He played a lot down the stretch out of necessity, but remember this staff benched him at one point. WIth a very deep FA class at safety, I have a feeling they don’t re-sign him. Anzalone is another guy I wouldn’t mind back, but he has basically said he is going to chase the money this off-season. I could see a team throwing him a multi year deal in the 6mil AAV range. I personally wouldn’t go higher than 2 years, 6-8mil.
The biggest one on this list that I may get pushback on is DJ Chark. I really think people are over estimating his market. I could be off, but this is just my personal opinion. I think he values culture much more than most realize after what he went through with Urban Meyer. You could see how much he felt at home here throughout the year and I think people are underestimating that aspect.
Chark would walk away from more money to come back here, IMO. Now I’m not saying he would turn down a 5 year 100mil deal from Chicago to come back on a 3 year 30mil deal. I’m saying if we are offering 3 years, 39mil and he is getting a 3 year, 45mil deal from somewhere else he would choose us. Thats just me feeling on the situation by reading the tea leaves so to speak.
Not sure if I would let AO walk. Sure he had a bad year but was decent beforehand. Could be just mental work that needs to be addressed in the off season. Plus he’s a CB, not many around these parts.
Evan brown is gonna get starter center money somewhere else and he won’t be back. I would love Chark back but the ingredient for him to not be here are there 1) poor wr draft class 2) poor wr FA market 3) teams w bad wr cores 4) said teams w lots of money 5) he WANTED to be a FA this offseason and have the market dictate his value.
Sooooooooooo
Yea the bears are gonna throw 18 million at him.
I think Hughes comes back. Will Harris MIGHT…they love him….but he may want too much money.
Anzalone it will be interesting to see how it plays out bc he is gonna get a bigger deal elsewhere.
I definitely agree on Brown. He has two years of solid starting experience at both G and C. He won’t wow you, but he is a reasonable starter and someone will overpay.
Will Harris is interesting. He has played a ton of snaps over his4 years, but not a lot of quality play. He is clearly raw as a CB, but showed some promise. Will another team be willing to offer 5mil+ AAV? I just don’t see it, but you never know. I’m thinking 2 years, 5mil if he is back, which is solid depth money. Hughes is interesting as he played the run very well, but had a lot of ups and downs in coverage. To me it is either Hughes or Harris and not both, IMO. The vet exception gives Harris the edge here.
As for Chark, I could be way off on his FA value. The Bears already have a similar player in Claypool that they gave up a premium pick for and have to sign to a big deal. A guy like Chark doesn’t make sense for them, IMO. The Falcons and Giants are probably better fits, but does he want to go back to playing with so-so QB’s? I guess we will find out.
IMO
Chark is better than claypool and can do more things. Now, slot of that has to do w claypool and is diva immaturity. If he wanted to be good he could be a top 10’reciever……but that first year w what 10 tds went to his head and he is very full of himself.
You do make great points all around and I do think giants etc would be good fits now thet you mentioned it.
I’ll take Chark all day over Claypool as well, I just think when you commit such a high pick (pick #32) for a player you are kind of pot committed. I don’t see them paying Chark 18mil AAV and turning around and giving Claypool 15-20mil AAV the next year. You also have Darnell Mooney hitting FA in 2024 as well. I think a guy like Jakobi or Juju make more sense for the bears as possession guys who can work the middle of the field.
Texans are losing Cooks this offseason leaving them with Nico Collins and John Metchie…they are going to be adding a WR and also have a lot of cap space.
I don’t think the Bears are even that weak at WR. Claypool, Mooney, and Jones isn’t as bad as people make it out to be. And if they are gonna over pay for a WR, I think it’s a JuJu or Jakobi. And I just think it makes too much sense for Cooks to be involved with a trade for the #1 pick.
Don’t be so sure about that. Cooks is an obvious guy to bring up in trades because he is older and the Texans are rebuilding, but his contract is an albatross.
His entire 18mil base salary for 2023 is GUARANTEED. No team is going to give up a premium pick for a guy with an 18mil guaranteed base salary. If your Houston, why trade him if you aren’t going to get someone/something decent in return, especially when you need some reliable WR’s for an incoming rookie.
Now maybe Houston just wants to get out of his contract so they trade him for peanuts, but who wants to take on his deal?
The Bears need an OL, Fields may or may not be a decent throwing QB. Who would know when you are running for your life when tossing it? OL and in a deep TE draft get some help on the short routes. Fields has to learn how to use his receivers or it won’t matter who they get.
They have a ton of room and I expect them to focus a chunk of that on the O-Line. I think they are going to throw a ton of money at Mike McGlinchey/Kaleb McGary. Maybe as much as 20mil AAV. I also see them going hard after a center like McGovern, Bozeman, or Pocic.
They also need help on every level of their defense.
deep breaths brother, I think he goes somewhere else for 5-6 million year. I think he played well enough that someone is going to pay him more then Detroit wants to pay him.
Well lets see what happens. Paying an 18mil fully guaranteed base salary in 2023 to an almost 30 year old WR who is 5’ 10" and 185 pounds is not a sure thing.
The move would make no sense for a rebuilding team, so that narrows down the list quite a bit. Its also unlikely any cash strapped team would take on that hit either, so how many teams are we even talking about? Patriots, Ravens, maybe the Giants?
