:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/34455575/20131216_mje_af3_492.0.jpg)
At this time a week ago, the Detroit Lions were dead last in the NFL in cap space. They only had $732,119 to work with, which wasn't even enough to sign first-round pick Eric Ebron.
On Friday, the Lions did in fact sign Ebron. The thinking all along was that they would have to restructure someone's contract or sign defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh to a long-term deal to free up enough room for Ebron, but they decided to release cornerback Chris Houston instead. Since they waited until after June 1 to cut him, they were able to spread out his dead money over two years, and they freed up $3.5 million in cap space for 2014 in the process.
With the official addition of Ebron to the roster and the departure of Houston, the Lions now have around $2 million in cap space, according to the NFLPA. This puts them 30th in the NFL. Take a look:
| Rank | Team | Cap space |
| 1 | Jacksonville Jaguars | $28,482,812 |
| 2 | Cleveland Browns | $25,612,290 |
| 3 | Cincinnati Bengals | $23,271,932 |
| 4 | New York Jets | $21,906,269 |
| 5 | Tennessee Titans | $19,257,413 |
| 6 | Philadelphia Eagles | $18,895,510 |
| 7 | Miami Dolphins | $15,733,685 |
| 8 | Indianapolis Colts | $13,806,624 |
| 9 | Green Bay Packers | $13,515,388 |
| 10 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | $12,906,488 |
| 11 | Arizona Cardinals | $11,367,935 |
| 12 | Dallas Cowboys | $10,550,888 |
| 13 | Oakland Raiders | $10,271,612 |
| 14 | Kansas City Chiefs | $9,712,465 |
| 15 | Atlanta Falcons | $9,258,836 |
| 16 | Houston Texans | $8,717,305 |
| 17 | Seattle Seahawks | $8,704,698 |
| 18 | Buffalo Bills | $7,578,856 |
| 19 | Minnesota Vikings | $7,324,443 |
| 20 | New England Patriots | $7,236,450 |
| 21 | New York Giants | $7,036,009 |
| 22 | Pittsburgh Steelers | $7,013,035 |
| 23 | Carolina Panthers | $6,235,537 |
| 24 | San Francisco 49ers | $5,725,793 |
| 25 | Chicago Bears | $5,209,948 |
| 26 | Baltimore Ravens | $4,309,058 |
| 27 | Denver Broncos | $4,308,457 |
| 28 | San Diego Chargers | $2,133,103 |
| 29 | Washington Redskins | $2,064,143 |
| 30 | Detroit Lions | $2,005,001 |
| 31 | St. Louis Rams | $1,744,098 |
| 32 | New Orleans Saints | $1,718,621 |
30th isn't great by any means, but the good news is that the Lions' entire draft class is now under contract. No contract restructurings for players still on the team were necessary to make that happen, and now the only really notable storyline for the cap going forward involves Suh's contract negotiations. The hope remains that the Lions will get a deal done with Suh this summer, and if that ends up happening, they should have a lot more than $2 million to work with from a salary cap standpoint.