Tuesday open thread: Grade the Detroit Lions’ Day 1 of free agency

The Detroit Lions certainly took their shot in Day 1 of the tampering period for free agency. After officially signing Danny Amendola to fill their slot receiver need, the Lions quickly made some of the biggest moves once the tampering period began. Agreeing to terms with likely their No. 1 target Trey Flowers, the Lions also added key players at big areas of need. Justin Coleman helps bolster a secondary that got exposed last year, and Jesse James was the Lions’ best free agency option to fix their weakest position from 2018.

It’s not often that free agency results mirrors what fans wanted, but Monday was exactly that. Detroit picked up two or three players that were on fans’ wish list, making a Monday a rare day of celebration for Lions fans.

But I’m sure not everyone felt that way. So today’s Question of the Day is:

What grade do you give the Lions’ first day of legal tampering?

My answer: Of course, it’s hard to give a thorough analysis of the Lions’ decisions without knowing one key factor: contract terms. We still have no idea what Jesse James’ deal looks like—both in terms of length and average per year. Trey Flowers’ numbers are still just an estimate $16-17 million per year. And the cap breakdown of Coleman’s and Amendola’s deal is still unclear.

That being said, looking around the NFL, it looks like the Lions made some smart choices. Landon Collins got $14 million per year. C.J. Mosley got $17 million. Adam Humphries got $9 million.

Would you rather pay Landon Collins $14 million a year or Flowers $17 million? That’s an easy choice for me.

And it’s hard to imagine the Lions filling their needs any better than they did on Monday. Not only did they address the most pressing positions in tight end, wide receiver, edge defender and cornerback, but—aside from Amendola—they got players still very much in the prime of their careers. Flowers is 25, Colemans is 25, James is 24. You’re not supposed to get young talent like that in free agency.

So while my final grade for these moves is still to be determined, based on the information I know right now, it’s hard to give Monday anything less than a B+. The Lions still have a lot of needs they have to address (G, RB2, CB2, LB, TE1), and they may be running short on cash, but the Lions got better on Monday, and they have some players that could potentially be around for a long time.

Your turn.