Lions FA's this off season. How friendly will our Cap be in 2012?
by Budro2010 on Nov 2, 2011 5:16 PM EDT
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Sitting at 6-2; I started thinking about some of the FA's we signed in the off season and of course naturally how there all panning out.
So who do we keep? What do we pay em? And who do we say farwell to?
I believe one of the many reasons we are doing so well this year is because we have been building a program around a firm foundation of players. Yes we have had some solid drafts in 3 years and we have had great success with FA signings and trades courtesy of Mr. Martin Mayhew. I took at look at the lists and like any other team; I know the Front Office is going to have a busy and stressful summer.
Stephen Tulloch - There should be no question about this nor any debate. In my mind, we just replaced Stephen Boyd or maybe even Chris Spielman. He has played very well for us and manages to stay healthy (knock on wood) despite how hard he plays. This guy was a tremendous upgrade to our defense and I would want him to be a Lion for at least another 5 years.
Shaun Hill - Backup QB's are priceless and if you don't have a good backup, you have a smaller chance of producing a winning season. You can't expect to get a Matt Cassel performance; you can only be thankful if it happens. Shaun fits well with us and should stay with the Lions.
Jeff Backus - ahhhhhhh................ Deep thought! He's been a Lion for over 10 years and he's been healthy for the whole stint. Backus has been around for a long time and even though he has gotten better with Rob Simms by his side, he still has nightmares of elite pass rushers. I say resign him for 2 more years BUT make it a big priority to rebuild and possibly upgrade through next years draft. I would also have a conversation with him about taking a pay cut :-)
Cliff Avril - As expected... and feared; he's having arguably his best year in Detroit and shows no signs of slowing down. Our DLine has a lot of names, a lot of stories and a lot of attributes but other than KVB, Cliff just works his ass off to pay make plays and he takes advantage of playing next to Suh. I'm just freaked out that he is going to want a ton of money and I can see other teams willing to pay him what he wants. I want him back but I have a bad feeling he is going to want way more than we are willing to spend. I predict Cliff leaves.
Eric Wright - He's been solid, and has been the perfect compliment to Chris Houston. I absolutely love our secondary right now and we need to bring him back. I read in the Free Press that he likes it here and wants to stay long term. As long as we don't give away the farm like we did with Burleson; it should be an easy sign.
Drew Stanton - He likes Detroit, we like him here and as long as he stays cheap; might as well keep signing him.
Maurice Stovall - Hasn't really made any kind of impact and I really don't expect him too because of all the other weapons we have. I wouldn't make resigning him that big a priority.
Ashley Palmer - A solid special teams guy and shouldn't cost much to resign.
Bobby Carpenter - As long as he stays cheap; keep his ass around because he can play in Detroit.
Maurice Morris - I really like Maurice Morris but we will potentially have 2 healthy backs already and Mayhew might want to go younger. Cut him loose.
Stephan Logan - The new kickoff rule has made Logan much less effective for us. Logan is a RFA and I don't see any teams making any significant offers to get him. Let him role.
DeAndre Levy - RFA next year and is proving to be part of the ultimate solution. A team desperate for an LB might make an offer considering he has shown to be able to play both Middle and the Outsides however unless its a significant sum, i see the Lions matching it.
Sammie Hill - This should be really interesting in the off-season. Sammie doesn't get a bunch of playing time but when he does he demands a lot of attention from O-Linemen and I can see a team coming in with an attractive offer that he may not be able to refuse. Right now he is with Nick Fairly on the rotation for the interior lineman. Even though this system works; players are going to want a shot at starting and he knows he won't have that shot being the #4 on our team right now. He is a RFA and I can see a team making him a significant offer and the Lions choosing to let him leave.
Rashied Davis - Has he even played yet? Cut him loose and sign somebody who can stay healthy.
Corry Hilliard - I wouldn't notice if he stayed or left. Let him go and resign him later if we can find anybody better.
I'm fairly certain that's everyone but I could be wrong. Right now I believe the Lions 3 biggest priorities are in the order of:
1. Stephen Tulloch
2. DeAndre Levy
3. Cliff Avril
What worries me is that we are one 1 1/2 years of having to sit down with Calvin Johnson and literally making him an offer to become the highest paid player in the NFL. I think Calvin wants to be a part of the finished product that he helped create and I see him staying.
Thoughts on this list guys, I'm all ears.
Go LIONS!
This is a FanPost and does not necessarily reflect the views of Pride of Detroit or its writers. FanPosts are valued expressions of opinion by passionate and knowledgeable fans.
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Heres my 2 Cents
Tulloch – Stays
Hill – Stays
Backus – Stays
Avril – Stays
Wright – Stays
Stanton – Stays, Unless another team offers a backup spot
Stovall – Leaves
Palmer – Stays
Morris – Leaves
Carpenter – Stays
Logan – Stays
Sammie Hill – Stays
Davis – Leaves
Hilliard – Leaves
Datsyukian Deke, Detroit Red Wings Blog
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On the Shaun Hill vs Drew Stanton situation...
I would be surprised of Drew Stanton stays with the Lions another season if he can get a #2 (or even #1) slot with another team. The Lions are happy with Shaun Hill and he is relatively cheap. It also seems that Hill is happy as the backup for Stafford. Unless something amazing happens, I expect that Hill will stay and Stanton may get a better situation someplace else.
There is a need for good quarterbacks on several teams and Stanton would be an upgrade for some guys that are starting right now. I seriously think he is better than Beck, Grossman, Quinn, or Tebow at this stage of his career. He may not be better than Orton, but the Broncos that burned that bridge. He is also better than Charlie Whitehurst and maybe even better than Tarvaris Jackson.
The interesting situation will come if the Lions avoid having to play Stanton this season. Since there will not be any more tape out there for him, he might not garner much attention. It would all come down to how some teams do in the 2012 NFL Draft. If Stanton does not get any good offers from other teams the Lions may be able to keep him at veteran minimum salary.
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Calvin is actually under contract for 2012
The problem is that his cap hit will rise to $18 million next season. The Lions will want to renegotiate that to bring that cap hit down some. Since it is the last season of his contract, the Lions cannot spread play creative games with his contract by giving him a bonus and spreading the cost over multiple seasons. They will have to extend him to get what they need.
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Here is my take on the free agents.
Give these guys a multi-year contract at a good wage for their role. They earned it.
Stephen Tulloch, Cliff Avril, Eric Wright, Shaun Hill
Sign these guys to a two year deal at a reasonable price. Don’t break the bank for them.
Jeff Backus, Rob Carpenter, Stefan Logan
Sign these guys to a one year deal and bring them into camp at league minimum. They might reject the offer and if they do then let them go:
Maurice Stovall, Rashied Davis, Maurice Morris, Corey Hilliard
Stanton we have to play by ear based on what offers he gets from other teams. If we can get him for a reasonable salary then keep him. Otherwise, pick up another #3 QB. There are plenty of them around.
Ashlee Palmer and Sammie Lee Hill are RFAs. So you give them a tender offer at a level that you are comfortable with. I would tender Palmer at fourth round and SLH at first round. If somebody makes them an offer then take the draft pick.
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Mayhew is going to have to be great
I don’t see how we can afford Avril and SLH. I really expect teams to make runs at them. We also will have to pay Calvin and I just don’t know how you do all of that. Glad I am just an accountant because I don’t know how you do that.
I just did with a Spreadsheet
Well I got it figured out with Tuff assistance. I have to say I got Calvin with a 10 year 180 million extended contract 30mil SB with an additional 50mil RB. Next is Avril with a 5 year 41 million contract with 20mil SB. Vandenbosch gets an extension of 30 million 4 year deal with a 8 million SB. Backus gets a new contract of 3 years 14 million with a 6 million SB and a 250k RB for the final year. Tulloch gets a 7 year 48 million with a 10 SB and a 10 RB. Corey Williams gets an extension of 4 years 17 million 6 million SB. As for SLH well he is still restricted but I would try to sign him for a 2 year 1.5 million deal with a 100k SB. The only issue is currently I am over by a million or so but Nates Contract could be looked at. That would be a good contract to redo but extend for a two more years maybe. That would be enough to reduce the cost. Needless to say this includes 4 draft picks out of 7 making the team and a FA safety. I would also keep Stovall, McDonald, Wright, Palmer, Levy, Carpenter, Hillard, Stanton, Morris, Logan, and Mulbach although most at league minimal s and small SB.
I should also point out that if the Lions could not keep Stanton a 5th rookie could be kept by drafting one as a late rounder which would save roughly 300k. Now Mayhew may have a tough job getting these players extended and resigned at least he is not in the Steelers Organization. From what I heard they are currently over the cap for next year by 20 million or so with no FAs signed. So the Lions are in good shape but will not land much in FA unless they lose a FA that they need like a CB, LB, or WR.
Differences
Let Hill go. Stanton is already better IMO and won’t stay around if he’s not #2.
Let MoMo go, we need to be younger and even sign another back (on the cheap) IMO to compliment Best. I hope Keiland stays and Leshoure can come back well…
Maybe sign Backus to another 2 years IF he takes a big pay cut and we are intent on replacing him at LT (that means either Fox has made significant strides or we acquire a LT via high in the draft or by FA/trade)
Priority singings:
1. Avril (he’s on the verge of being an elite pass rusher, of which are teams is built on…)
2. Wright (CBs are harder to fill than LBs)
3. Tulloch
4. Levy
The boys are back in town!
Stanton is gone
won’t be resigned
"I like to win all the time, so all the time I play with myself."
Busy offseason
I can see Nate being released in the offseason to open up more cap space to resign our top priorities in Tulloch, Levy, and Wright. There’s a reason we drafted Titus in the 2nd round. I hear he’s great for the locker room, but he just hasn’t played great this year. On pace for another 50 catch season, we can get that production for cheaper off the FA list.
As mentioned, I can see Avril trying to break the bank and I don’t know if we can afford him. I would love to see him stay, but there’s a realistic chance he may walk. We wouldn’t miss much, because Willie Young (with another year of experience) will step right in. With Suh getting doubled Fairly and Williams working interchangeably, we could stick anyone on that end position and they would rack up sacks.
We have to draft a tackle in the draft this year! With that being said, I say we show some loyalty to Backus and give him 2 year deal and groom the draft pick to take his spot.
I say we keep whoever is cheaper btw Stanton and Hill.
I don't see us drafting a left tackle early...
Jason Fox performed well in the preseason at left tackle and he was growing fast. I expect that he will return soon from his broken foot and start the transition to being the starting left tackle for the Lions. If he continues on the trajectory that he was following prior to his injury, the Lions will not be in the market for a left tackle.
We also have to realize that the Lions have another young offensive tackle named Johnny Culbreath that is on IR at the moment. He was put on IR because of an illness, but it was not revealed what that illness was. All they said is that he is expected to be fine eventually. Whatever it is, it did not appear to be the kind of thing that would keep Culbreath out of the weight room. So Johnny will spend this season getting stronger and learning the playbook. When he returns in camp, he should have made some progress toward becoming an NFL level player despite being on IR.
I also expect the Lions to hedge their bets at offensive tackle by signing Jeff Backus to a new contract for maybe two or three seasons, but at a reduced salary. This allows the Lions to have a proven player to compete with Fox for the left tackle position. If Fox wins the job, then Backus would be quality depth on the bench.
If the Lions do draft another offensive tackle in the draft, I expect that it will be another developmental guy in the later rounds. That way the Lions will have some options. Both Culbreath and any other new developmental tackle could be stashed on the practice squad if needed.
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I'm still not convinced we won't get something out of Culbreath yet.
He performed admirably in pre-season.
"You've got to respect your opponent, no matter who it is. You respect him best by going out there and beating him up." - Calvin Johnson
ithink the lions will try to up grade the LT spot in fa and might give backus a short deal if they cant . the lions most lickely will try to keep thier OLB/MLB //CORPS in place as will cb corps so aviril might be used to get a draft pick in a trade deal i can sea a few teams doining adeal with the lions .
1) Get Calvin a new contract, he is the new R. Moss of the league. Maybe they should also consider waving a WR to sign him.
2) LT is an intricate position, and the draft will be weak. Backus will be re-signed along with another cheap backup. Unless Mayhew believes Adams out of Ohio state is good enough to start immediately.
3) Center is the weakness of the line. Peterman will require upgrades after the season. L. Davis is a situational player in the spread offense. Raiola looks as though possibly Konz of Wisconsin will be his immediate replacement.
4) The team could use a good wing to diversify the spread. Titus Young has good speed, but some upcoming recievers will put fear in defenses (ie. Broyles, 6th round).
5) K. smith may be the answer this team was looking for. I do not believe they will need to upgrade again. That is the case unless some unbeatable deal comes around.
6) Stanton is good for this team, but he does not scare defenses. He does not warrant much consideration from the majority of GMs.
7) On defense, we start in the trenches. Sammie Lee Hill is restricted, no one wants to five up draft picks for one-year players. Also, don’t be suprised if this is C. Williams last year here, DaJohn Harris or a free-agent will be adequate replacements. They commited so much capital to Suh and Fairley, build around them.
8) Same as #7, build around those DT’s and let Avril test the market. They hav L. Jackson as a backup where a solid draft player like Missouri’s J. Smith could be plucked. He is a developmental player, but I expect the team will keep Vanden Bosch.
9) LB, Durant during the first few games looked like the best linebacker on the team. Although Tulloch is the best we’ve had since Brown, Sean Spence flashes his type of game. This team should consider developing players for there system.
10) The secondary-the draft will be the strongest here because the senior class is strong here. Omar Bolden could be had on the 2nd or 3rd day as well as many other players. I also wouldn’t mind drafting a new safety as an athletic project.
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