Lions not planning to re-sign five free agents

The Detroit Lions have 14 players set to become unrestricted free agents on March 11, and they have already decided that five of them will not be back in 2014. According to general manager Martin Mayhew, the Lions are planning to move on without offensive guard Dylan Gandy, defensive end Israel Idonije, linebacker Rocky McIntosh, safety John Wendling and kicker David Akers.

Gandy is the only offensive free agent who is for sure not in the Lions' future plans. He had served as the Lions' primary backup at offensive guard and center since 2009, but with Rodney Austin poised to be on the 53-man roster and Leroy Harris still on the team, there's no real need to re-sign Gandy.

On defense, it appears that the Lions simply want to get younger from a depth standpoint. Idonije didn't do much as a backup at defensive end in 2013, and McIntosh was primarily a special teams player. Wendling was strictly a special teams player, but the Lions have a few young guys who could step into that role and still contribute at safety.

Speaking of special teams, it's no surprise that the Lions aren't planning to re-sign Akers. They signed kickers John Potter and Giorgio Tavecchio to futures deals after the 2013 season, making it clear that they wanted to go in another direction at the position in 2014. Now we know for sure that Akers' time in Detroit has come to an end.