Cornerback Eric Wright drew a lot of interest on day one of NFL free agency and ended up signing with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers today. His deal with the Buccaneers is for five years, and his contract numbers have now leaked out:
Eric Wright did well in TB. 5 yrs $37.5M w/$15.5M guaranteed fully for skill/injury/cap at the time of signing #freeagency #bucsspendinbucks
— Jason La Canfora (@JasonLaCanfora) March 14, 2012
That is a lot more money than I expected Wright to get, and now it's pretty clear why he signed with a team other than the Detroit Lions. At the time his deal was completed, the Lions were still busy trying to get things done with Calvin Johnson, and even though they now have some extra cap space, there is no way they would have given Wright a deal like that.
While it certainly hurts to lose Wright, there was no way to retain him based on what he got from the Bucs. The Lions will have to fill the hole created by his exit, but they should be able to do so at a much more affordable price.