Friday open thread: How many big free agent signings should the Lions make?

The Detroit Lions are not quite competing for the playoffs in 2021, which is a good thing given the number of holes on the roster. Combining that with a lower salary cap, the likelihood for drastic improvement seems small. In fact, it very well could be an offseason without any huge additions.

Still, there is some wiggle room in the budget, and the Lions obviously need to do something in free agency. The last couple years saw Jamie Collins (3 years, $30 million), Halapoulivaati Vaitai (5 years, $45 million), and Justin Coleman (4 years, $36 million) come to Detroit on mid-sized deals, which is much more likely this offseason than a deal like Trey Flowers’ (5 years, $90 million).

Today’s Question of the Day is:

How many big free agent signings should the Lions make?

My answer: The Lions’ salary cap space is an ever-changing number, with cuts and restructures rolling in every day. Nevertheless, there is not expected to be a ton of availability in the budget, even with some creativity. Therefore, any signings will need to be of modest value and/or backloaded to future seasons.

I am not sure Detroit can, or should, make any “big” signings this offseason. The team already passed on franchise tagging Kenny Golladay, meaning a top tier wide receiver signing is unlikely. I think the wise move would be to find a couple buy-low situations, where a linebacker or cornerback can be had on at a lesser figure in hopes of bouncing back with the Lions. Ultimately, I would be okay with this being the most boring free agency period in recent memory.