Report: Lions to sign CB Emmanuel Moseley to a 1-year contract

According to a report from ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the Detroit Lions are signing cornerback Emmanuel Moseley (formerly of the San Francisco 49ers) to a one-year contract worth $6 million.

Moseley is an outside corner who went undrafted in 2018 and signed with the 49ers, and worked his way into a part-time starting role in 2019. By 2021, he was starting a full-time starter, and in 2022, Moseley was off to a solid start to the year before an ACL injury in Week 5 cost him the remainder of the season.

Just 26 years old, reports on Moseley’s ability to recover from his ACL injury in order to be ready to play in time for the season seem promising. While he has only been contributing in the NFL for four seasons, his developmental growth arrow is pointing up.

In Niners Nation’s free agent profile of Moseley, they suggested the team wanted him to return and believed he was due for a substantial raise.

“The bottom line, Moseley’s play has warranted a raise,” Jason Aponte of Niners Nation wrote. “A substantial one, in my opinion. Moseley will be 27 at the start of the 2023 season. Mooney Ward is a prime example of someone who went undrafted and played himself into a payday.”

Spotrac’s Market value projection system agreed with Aponte’s assessment, suggesting Moseley could earn a new contract that averaged $16.6 million a year for four years. Now, the ACL likely played into the contract the Lions reportedly struck with Moseley, but it speaks to his potential value as a player.

In an interesting twist, Moseley and Cameron Sutton—who reportedly signed a deal with the Lions on Monday—were college teammates at Tennessee.

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