Tuesday open thread: Who is the Lions’ most important free agent?

Though many of us are already caught up in the NFL Draft buzz, there are several offseason dominoes that have to fall before we start talking about who will be a part of the Detroit Lions rookie class.

The magical world of free agency comes first and is just over a month away. On March 9, all unsigned players whose contracts run out after 2016 will become free agents. The Lions currently have an estimated $36 million in cap space, so they could be somewhat large players during the free agency period.

But before we even get there, the Lions have an opportunity to retain some of their own players set to become free agents. Detroit currently has 20 unrestricted free agents that could hit the open market.

So today’s Question of the Day is:

Which of the Lions’ 20 unrestricted free agents is the most important to retain?

My answer: Riley Reiff. Though Reiff may be asking for too much on the free market, he still remains the Lions’ biggest priority among potential free agents. Not only do the Lions have no better options for right tackle on the roster, they don’t have anyone close to being able to start. Whereas the Lions could get by without the likes of Larry Warford or Andre Roberts, they cannot afford to lose Reiff without adding another huge need to a long list of holes on the roster.

It might mean they have to overpay the guy, but in my opinion, Reiff is priority No. 1 when it comes to the Lions’ own free agents.

Your turn.