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Last week details from the proposed collective bargaining agreement leaked out. This gave us an idea of what to expect with free agency, as it was outlined that players with four years or more or service would be unrestricted free agents. Players with three years or less would still be restricted.
There have been many questions about what this means for Detroit Lions free agents, so after the jump is a quick rundown of them and what their status would be under the proposed CBA:
Restricted (already tendered):
- FB Jerome Felton (original-round level)
- DE Cliff Avril (first- and third-round level)
- DT Andre Fluellen (unknown level)
Restricted (unknown if he was tendered or not):
- OT Corey Hilliard (the Lions re-signed him as an exclusive-rights free agent in 2010, meaning this year he would be considered a restricted free agent, but I haven't been able to find if he was tendered or not; feel free to let me know if you can find anything on his status)
Restricted (not tendered):
- RB Kevin Smith
Exclusive-rights (if we know they were tendered it is noted in parentheses):
- FB Jake Nordin
- WR Stefan Logan
- LB Zack Follett (tendered)
- LB Caleb Campbell
- LB Ashlee Palmer
- CB Paul Pratt (tendered)
- CB Prince Miller (tendered)
Unrestricted:
- QB Drew Stanton (four years)
- WR Brian Clark (four years)
- C/OG Dylan Gandy (five years)
- DE Turk McBride (four years)
- DE Jared DeVries (more than six years)
- LB Bobby Carpenter (five years)
- LB Vinny Ciurciu (more than six years)
- LB Landon Johnson (more than six years)
- CB Chris Houston (four years)
- CB Brandon McDonald (four years)
- CB Tye Hill (four years)
- CB Eric King (more than six years)
- S John Wendling (four years)
- S C.C. Brown (six years)
- K Dave Rayner (four years)
The players the Lions wanted to bring back that are considered unrestricted based on the proposed rules are as follows: Houston (tendered at an unknown level), Stanton (tendered at an original-round level) McBride (tendered at a second-round level), Carpenter (tendered at an unknown level), Gandy (tendered at an original-round level), Wendling (tendered at an original-round level) and Rayner (tendered at an original-round level). Clark decided to retire, and the Lions did not tender an offer to McDonald or Hill. The other players listed above would have been unrestricted free agents even under the old rules.