The Detroit Lions spent the hours before the NFL’s legal tampering window opened Monday afternoon taking care of some in-house priorities. The team reached a new, two-year extension with veteran defensive tackle Isaiah Buggs shortly before taking care of six exclusive-rights free agents, including tight end Brock Wright and running back Craig Reynolds.
The legal tampering period, also known as the NFL’s negotiating window, is the precursor to the start of the new league year Wednesday afternoon at 4 p.m., when contracts officially expire and free agents are allowed to join another team. In the meantime, agents and teams are able to negotiate and verbally agree to deals for pending free agents, although, in reality, some of this talk has been going on behind the scenes for weeks.
Throughout the day, we’re going to aggregate many of the happenings around the league, and when relevant, explain how the transactions might impact the Lions.
Editor’s note: Newest updates will be on top.
▶ 9:43 p.m. — All quiet on Detroit’s front, but popping in to update you on some of the contract agreements from this evening, including a couple big deals for defensive linemen.
- Zach Allen, who played inside and outside for the Cardinals, cashed in on that versatility with a three-year, $45.8 million pact from the Broncos. That keeps him paired with coordinator Vance Joseph, who served in the same role in Arizona the past four seasons.
- Denver is also losing a defender up front, with defensive tackle Dre’mont Jones taking a three-year, $51 million offer from Seattle.
- The Minnesota Vikings also added and lost a defender Monday night, agreeing with former Saints edge rusher Marcus Davenport on a one-year, $13 million offer. But the NFC North foe said goodbye to linebacker Eric Kendricks after eight seasons. He announced he’s signing with the Chargers.
- Linebacker Kaden Elliss, who had a significant defensive role for the first time in his career last season, starting 11 games for the Saints, scored a huge pay increase, getting three years, $21.5 million from the Falcons.
- Center Bradley Bozeman re-upped with Carolina, netting a three-year, $18 million extension.
▶ 7:33 p.m. — We’re going to temporarily hit pause on updates tonight, unless a big signing comes through this evening. Regardless, we’ll be back with this feature tomorrow.
▶ 7:09 p.m. — The day’s run on linebackers has continued into the early evening. Three more reached agreements in the past hour. David Long is getting two years, $11 million from the Dolphins, the Giants are adding Bobby Okereke for four years, $40 million, and the Broncos are re-signing Alex Singleton for three years, $18 million after three straight 100-tackle campaigns.
▶ 6:08 p.m. — The hits keep coming for the defending NFC champions. The Eagles lost a third starter from the team’s defense after safety Marcus Epps agreed to a two-year deal with the Raiders. He led the team with more than 1,000 defensive snaps last season and joins an exodus that includes defensive tackle Javon Hargrave and linebacker T.J. Edwards.
It might get worse with cornerback James Bradberry, safety Chauncey Gardner-Johnson and defensive tackle Fletcher Cox among the team’s remaining free agents, while Darius Slay’s agent has been given permission to explore the trade market.
▶ 5:05 p.m. — OK, got hung up with another Lions move, the re-signing of Anzalone. Let’s double back on the agreements from the past hour or so:
- After playing last season under the franchise tag, safety Jessie Bates is leaving Cincinnati for a four-year, $64 million deal with Atlanta.
- The Steelers found a replacement for Cameron Sutton, who agreed with the Lions earlier in the day, reaching an agreement with eight-time Pro Bowler Patrick Peterson.
- Former Rams and Texans edge rusher Ogbonnia Okoronkwo is going to Cleveland on a three-year, $19 million contract.
- And finally, the Buccaneers found the funds to retain who many viewed as the top cornerback on the market, Jamel Dean. He scored a new four-year, $52 million deal.
▶ 3:56 p.m. — The Bears entered the day with the most cap space in the NFL and continue to plug holes with those funds, agreeing to a three-year deal with guard Nate Davis and four-year, $72 million pact with linebacker Tremaine Edmunds. It’s the team’s second, second-level splash of the day, following an earlier agreement with T.J. Edwards.
The Davis addition will probably lead to the release of Cody Whitehair, the team’s second-round pick in 2016. He played a career-low 661 snaps last season and carries a cap hit north of $14 million next season.
▶ 3:12 p.m. — The initial frenzy has calmed significantly a few hours into the negotiating period. Reports of a couple more deals have trickled in, most notably a four-year, $80 million pact for offensive tackle Jawaan Taylor from the Chiefs. According to the NFL Network, the addition means the Super Bowl champs are moving on from Orlando Brown, who is poised to land a bigger deal than Taylor on the open market.
Additionally, there will be a new face in the NFC North, with the Vikings coming to terms on a three-year contract with Josh Oliver, an up-and-coming tight end known for his blocking. He should pair nicely in that offense with former Lion T.J. Hockenson.
To the surprise of no one, still nothing new on the Aaron Rodgers front.
▶ 2:37 p.m. — Of local interest, former Michigan standout Chase Winovich is on the move again. After spending his first three seasons with New England, and battling through some injuries in Cleveland last season that limited him to eight games, he’s signing a one-year deal with Houston.
It should be a good opportunity to get a once-promising career back on track. Winovich has seen the field for just 291 defensive snaps the past two seasons.
▶ 2:22 p.m. — Here’s some lofty praise for cornerback Cameron Sutton, who agreed to terms with the Lions earlier this afternoon.
That echoes a 2017 tweet about Sutton when he was coming out of college.
Also, here’s a little blurb on Detroit’s soon-to-be cornerback from Pro Football Focus’ free agency guide.
“Sutton quietly continued to excel in a Pittsburgh coverage unit that was otherwise very exploitable this season, with 2022 being just his second season as a full-time starter on the outside. Sutton signed a two-year, $9 million deal in 2021 that he outplayed in 2022, earning a 71.0 coverage grade and allowing just 411 receiving yards — the ninth fewest among cornerbacks with at least 400 coverage snaps on the season. Sutton’s versatility as a defensive back who can still line up in the slot when called upon provides added value for interested teams, as well.”
▶ 1:58 p.m. — Ok, coming up for some air after working through Cameron Sutton’s pending deal with the Lions. Here are some of the other deals being reported from around the league:
- 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, three years, $67.5 million from the Raiders
- 49ers offensive tackle Mike McGlinchey, five years, $87.5 million from the Broncos
- Raiders quarterback Jarrett Stidham, two years, $10 million from the Broncos
- Jets quarterback Mike White, two years, up to $16 million from the Dolphins
- Cowboys guard Connor McGovern, three years, $23 million from the Bills
- Saints defensive tackle Shy Tuttle, three years, $19.5 million from the Panthers
- Chiefs offensive tackle Andrew Wylie (Eastern Michigan), three years, $24 million from the Commanders
Did you get all that? Most notably, from a Lions perspective, you get the sense of what it will cost for a quality backup quarterback. It begs the legitimate question, do you really want to see the team tie up $5 million or more in someone of the caliber of Stidham or White?
This is why the best solution seems be drafting and developing a backup behind Goff, potentially as early as the second round, where the team holds two picks.
▶ 1:26 p.m. — The defensive tackle market continues to move quickly. Following Daron Payne parlaying the franchise tag into a four-year, $90 million pact over the weekend, top free agent Javon Hargrave is cashing in with a four-year, $84 million deal ($40 million guaranteed) from the San Francisco 49ers, according to ESPN.
It’s been a few years since Ndamukong Suh left Detroit for a six-year, $114 million contract with Miami. As the cap has gone up, the going rate for a star defensive tackle is now north of $20 million per season, with Hargrave and Payne joining Aaron Donald, Chris Jones, Leonard Williams and DeForest Buckner in that stratosphere.
▶ 1:05 p.m. — The agreements are coming in quickly, with Ravens guard Ben Powers on his way to Denver (four years, $52 million), return man Keisean Nixon returning to Green Bay (one year, $6 million), Broncos fullback Andrew Beck planning to sign with the Texans (two years, $6.75 million) and defensive tackle David Onyemata set to get three years, $35 million to jump from New Orleans to division rival Atlanta.
If you’ve been keeping up with our offseason coverage, you would know we had promoted Onyemata as a fit for the Lions, not only because of his familiarity with defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn from their shared time in New Orleans, but because Onyemata would have filled a need on the roster for more interior pass rush, having averaged nearly 36 quarterback pressures the past six seasons.
Alim McNeill led Detroit’s defensive tackles with 29 pressures last season, although 10 came in one game.
▶ 12:30 p.m. — The first agreement between a team and a player from outside that organization was reported just 16 minutes into the negotiating window when the Chicago Bears reportedly agreed to a three-year, $19.5 million package with Eagles linebacker T.J. Edwards.
Although the full details aren’t yet available, it appears to be a good deal for the Bears, with multiple outlets, including Pro Football Focus, projecting Edwards would land a pact that would pay him upwards of $12 million per season.
Edwards can play all three linebacker spots and helps replace Roquan Smith, who the Bears traded last season. Edwards will also come much cheaper than Smith, who scored a five-year, $100 million extension from Baltimore this offseason, which included $60 million in guarantees.
Edwards’ new deal also sets the table for Detroit free agent Alex Anzalone, who is viewed as a tier or two below in most free agent rankings.
▶ 12:25 p.m. — Prior to the negotiating window opening, the Atlanta Falcons agreed to a five-year, $105 million contract extension with guard Chris Lindstrom, who wasn’t set to be a free agent until next offseason. The deal will make Lindstrom the NFL’s highest-paid guard, by annual value.
Viewed as one of the best run blockers in the league, Lindstrom also allowed just nine quarterback pressures in more than 500 pass-blocking snaps last season. That production translated to the market-resetting deal for the former first-rounder.
The move is only relevant for Detroit because Jonah Jackson is set to enter the final year of his rookie deal. And while his next contract is not expected to come close to Lindstrom’s extension, Jackson is in line for a significant pay raise with his steady play that earned him Pro Bowl honors in 2021. It should easily top $10 million per season, as long as he continues to play at a similar level next season.
Retaining Jackson could be tricky for the Lions, given they’ve already committed big money to Taylor Decker and Frank Ragnow, and will have to eventually play Penei Sewell, who has established himself as one of the franchise’s top building blocks.
jdrogers@detroitnews.com
Twitter: @Justin_Rogers
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