The Detroit Lions may have to clear salary-cap room before Monday, the official start of Week 1, when the NFL stops counting only a team’s top 51 contracts and starts counting every one. Pride of Detroit reports that Jason Fitzgerald of Over The Cap, who has switched his site’s accounting to the regular-season rules, projects the Lions to be about $3 million over the cap, with the caveat that he is “about a day behind on waivers.” Detroit Lions On SI puts the same projection at “a little over $3 million”: the top 51 contracts cost $275,904,428 against a $301.2 million cap, before $36,185,336 in dead money and the practice squad, injured reserve and PUP players that also count once the season starts.
The fix, by Pride of Detroit’s reading, is restructures rather than cuts, though the Lions may already have started with the releases of Seth McLaughlin and Jabari Small. Jared Goff’s contract was partially restructured this offseason and still carries about $14 million of salary that could be converted to a signing bonus, which would free almost $12 million on its own; Penei Sewell’s $19.9 million salary and Amon-Ra St. Brown’s $27.5 million salary are also candidates. SI puts a second Goff restructure at $12 million. The cost is future cap space, and Pride of Detroit notes the Lions generally like to carry $10 million to $20 million during the season, for injury replacements and for flexibility at the trade deadline.
Fitzgerald’s projection includes $6.66 million in dead money from Terrion Arnold’s contract. Pride of Detroit points out that the figure assumes the Lions do not try to void Arnold’s guarantees; if they do and Arnold files a grievance, 40 percent of the contested salary counts against the cap until an arbitrator rules. SI reports the same fork: the front office could look to void guarantees, and Arnold could challenge that with the NFLPA’s help. Arnold, released five days after his June arrest, signed with the Seattle Seahawks last week and was placed on the commissioner’s exempt list, The Athletic reported, with a court date of Oct. 5.
Branch And Joseph On PUP, And A Rebuilt Cornerback Room
The Lions placed safeties Kerby Joseph and Brian Branch on reserve/PUP at the roster cutdown, which means each must miss at least the first four games, according to the Detroit Free Press‘ transaction list. Branch is coming back from a torn Achilles; at his season-opening news conference, Brad Holmes would not put a timetable on his return but said he is progressing, The Athletic reported. Joseph’s issue is his knee, and Vito Chirco of Detroit Lions On SI writes that the fear is neither returns as early as Week 5 against the Cardinals or after the Week 6 bye, “especially Joseph.” With both out, Heavy reports that Avonte Maddox and Chuck Clark will start at safety; Maddox was a depth player for Detroit last year and Clark arrived from the Steelers in free agency.
Four of last season’s five starters in the secondary will be different, by Heavy’s count: Rock Ya-Sin starts across from D.J. Reed at cornerback, the slot is either rookie Keith Abney II or Roger McCreary, both of whom would be new starters, and Maddox and Clark are at safety. Holmes defended the room when the Free Press’ Dave Birkett asked whether the team could have done more after releasing Arnold. “We did draft a corner; we did sign a corner in free agency; we did re-sign a corner,” he said, per Heavy. Reed is in the second year of a three-year, $48 million contract signed in 2025, and the Lions expect Ennis Rakestraw Jr. back after he missed all of 2025 with a shoulder injury, The Athletic reported. Ya-Sin, in his eighth season with 45 career starts, started six games for Detroit last year.
Not everyone is reassured. Chirco calls the secondary a weakness with “glaring holes at both outside and nickel corner, as well as safety,” and faults Holmes for never prioritizing “a reliable fallback option” for the two injured safeties. Holmes’ own summary, as The Athletic reported it: “We like the guys we have, we like what we’ve done, we feel good about what’s in the room right now.”
This article was created by aggregating Detroit Lions news using Artificial Intelligence.
