Wednesday open thread: Do you approve of Tracy Walker’s new contract?

The Detroit Lions didn’t start out free agency with a bang, largely focusing on retaining their own free agents. Prior to Tuesday’s agreeing to terms with DJ Chark, the closest thing to a bang was locking up safety Tracy Walker to a new three-year, $25 million deal after talks of it had been ongoing for months, which leads us to today’s question of the day.

Question of the day: Do you approve of Tracy Walker’s new contract?

My answer: Absolutely, I don’t think this deal could have been any better for the Lions.

Tracy Walker had a bounce-back year this season under the new regime, and that set him up as one of the better safeties on the free agent market. The top of the market, set by Marcus Williams’ five-year, $70 million deal with the Ravens, is at $14 million annually. While there was a lot of enthusiasm surrounding Walker returning to Detroit, I didn’t want it if it came anywhere near that price.

This, however, is a steal. Oversimplifying the contract quite a bit, it averages out to a shade over $8 million annually, or a little over half of what Williams will be costing Baltimore. There’s added value in the fact that we know Walker can and will do well in this system. There’s always a significant risk bringing in a new player to learn a new system with new teammates and coaches. Even the “safest” free agent signings are never a guarantee to succeed, as teams learn the hard way every year. Getting that kind of added security and bang for your buck is a home run deal for the Lions in my eyes.

What do you think of Tracy Walker’s new deal? Approve? Disapprove? Vote in the poll below and let us know what you think.