The Detroit Lions’ balance sheet is in good health, as proven by an attempt to identify their most overpriced player.
Coming out of the core part of free agency, the Detroit Lions have the NFL’s seventh-most cap space ($27.67 million, according to Over The Cap). If they sign any more players, they will not spend the entire budget; some will be assigned to the incoming draft class.
The two current largest budget hits on the Lions’ 2024 balance sheet (Jared Goff, $32.3 million and Taylor Decker, $19.1 million) are expected to be decreased by contract extensions this summer. Future contract extensions for other significant players are worth mentioning, but they are not relevant to a discourse about this year.
Brad Gagnon of Bleacher Report attempted to identify the most overpriced player on each NFL team following the peak of 2024 free agency. The Lions’ decision, while not ideal, is intriguing.
Bleacher Report writer Gagnon identified freshly acquired cornerback Carlton Davis as the most overpaid Lions player.
“The good news for the Lions is that the Buccaneers, who are responsible for a $14.1 million dead-cap penalty for Davis, are paying the majority of the pricey six-year veteran’s salary. He’ll earn a walk-year salary in that amount in 2024, despite being injury-prone and unreliable in coverage these days.
Gagnon appears to have missed the news that the Lions had restructured Davis’ contract for this year, his final year. That move reduced his base salary from $14 million to $8 million, converting the $6 million into a bonus and lowering his 2024 cap hit to $4.5 million. The addition of void years in the restructure results in a chunk of 2025 dead money ($9.82 million, according to the new contract), although that would be reworked if the Lions choose to grant him an extension.
The fact that the Buccaneers will incur nearly $14.1 million in dead money as a result of dealing him has little bearing on Davis’ status as the Lions’ most overpaid player.
There’s little doubt Davis has struggled to be available at all times, and his quality of performance dropped last year to the point where a former Buccaneers’ player (who did not play with Davis) believes Tampa Bay’s defense will not miss him.
There was a premise to be met, and there had to be someone. But it’s a stretch to declare Davis the Lions’ most expensive player, especially given the decision to restructure his contract for 2024.
