The Detroit Lions are continuing to deal with their own free agents. According to Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press, the Lions have offered a low-round tender to offensive tackle Cornelius Lucas:
The Lions have given OT Cornelius Lucas the low tender, meaning they can match any contract offer he receives as free agent.
— Dave Birkett (@davebirkett) March 9, 2017
According to Birkett, the tender is worth one year for $1.797 million. Justin Rogers of the Detroit News also reiterated that the money is non-guaranteed.
The tender now allows the Lions an opportunity to match any offers given to Lucas by any other team when free agency opens. Normally, if the Lions chose not to match an offer from another team, they would receive a draft pick equal to the round in which the player was drafted. However, Lucas went undrafted, so the Lions would not receive any compensation if Lucas signs a deal the Lions won’t match.
The Lions’ other restricted free agent, Khyri Thornton, has already reportedly agreed to a two-year deal with Detroit.
Lucas has been a backup tackle for the Lions since entering the league in 2014. Lucas only started one game last year: Detroit’s playoff game against the Seattle Seahawks.
The Lions currently only have offensive tackles Taylor Decker and Corey Robinson under contract—although they are presumed to sign Ricky Wagner later on Thursday.