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As the tampering period flew wide open on Monday, the Detroit Lions made one truly official roster move, releasing offensive lineman Joe Dahl just two days before the official start of the new league calendar year.
The news was announced by the team and is thus official, meaning Dahl is free to start looking for another club right away. The roster move saves the Lions close to $2.9 million in cap space, and the team doesn’t have to pay the $50,000 roster bonus that was due to Dahl on the fifth day of the new league year.
Dahl’s time in Detroit comes to an end after a disappointing 2020 campaign. Although Dahl had played much better in 2019, he didn’t take steps forward in the following season, where his overall value per PFF marked the lowest of his career. The Lions could look to a potential signing of Oday Aboushi in order to fill Dahl’s role on the offensive line, as Aboushi eventually started over Dahl at the end of the 2020 season.