A closer look at the Lions' 2014 salary cap

Last week, we took a general overview of the Detroit Lions' salary cap situation from 2014 to 2020. Although we got to see all of the different cap hits that are on the books for the remainder of the decade, the numbers didn't exactly tell the whole story. It's important to remember that numerous players under contract right now will be released later this summer, and many others will likely be let go in the coming years before they finish their contracts.

In order to get a better idea of where things stand for 2014, let's take a closer look at the Lions' salary cap situation. You can find a ranking of the largest cap hits on the left side, and on the right side you can see which players would provide the most cap savings if they were let go by the Lions.

The Lions currently have $147,453,751 committed to the 2014 salary cap, but they have around $2 million in cap space. That's because only the top 51 contracts count against the cap during the offseason. Once the regular season arrives, that rule will no longer apply and all contracts -- players on the 53-man roster, injured reserve, practice squad, etc. -- will count against the cap.

For this year, it's no surprise that Ndamukong Suh has the largest cap hit considering his contract has been restructured so much over the years. A big reason behind the Lions' desire to sign him to a long-term deal is to lower that $22.4 million cap number. A long-term deal isn't necessarily going to provide the Lions with a ridiculous amount of cap room at this point, but it would make his cap number a little bit more manageable.

The really interesting thing here is to look at the right side of the above table. If there's a situation where the Lions are desperate for cap room, who might be on the chopping block? Based on the cap savings if they were let go, guys like Rob Sims, Jason Jones, C.J. Mosley, Ashlee Palmer and Montell Owens jump out as potential cap casualties. That's not to say that any of them are in danger of being cut at this point, but if a cheaper, younger player steps up and takes over a starting spot at offensive guard or defensive end, for example, perhaps the Lions could choose cap savings over veteran depth.

Of course, players are generally released for cap reasons toward the beginning of the offseason, so roster decisions at this point should be based mainly on what happens on the field during training camp and the preseason. Salaries and cap hits are always part of the decision-making process, but the Lions already went through their cap casualties by releasing Nate Burleson, Louis Delmas and Leroy Harris back in February and March. In that sense, it'll be more interesting to look at the "savings if cut" column for 2015 and beyond, so stay tuned for that.

Strictly for 2014, what jumps out to you about the Lions' salary cap situation?

(Once again, special thanks to the Free Press, Spotrac, Over the Cap and the NFLPA. I couldn't have assembled these numbers without the great resources provided by those four sites.)