What Contract Should Detroit Lions Offer Josh Reynolds?

Read more on the type of contract the Detroit Lions should offer Josh Reynolds this offseason.

With the NFL playoffs starting this weekend, Detroit needs to start thinking ahead to putting together its 2022 roster.

One of the players worth considering in this process is wide receiver Josh Reynolds: What kind of contract should the Lions offer him this offseason? 

Reynolds is a piece to the puzzle who fits the DNA of this football team. He fits because of his past association with the Los Angeles Rams, which was the previous stop of both Detroit general manager Brad Holmes and quarterback Jared Goff. 

Holmes was the college scouting director with the Rams, back when Reynolds was selected in the fourth round of the 2017 NFL Draft. 

During his time with the Rams, Reynolds caught 113 passes for 1,450 yards and nine touchdowns. 

Reynolds then signed a one-year deal with the Titans in 2021. But, he was released last November, before catching on with the Lions. 

Reynolds grabbed 19 passes for 306 yards and two touchdowns in seven games for the Lions. However, it is not just Reynolds’ production on the field that mattered most. 

Reynolds fits the culture that Holmes is attempting to instill in Detroit. That is part of Reynolds’ value and part of this equation. Familiarity is the name of the game in the NFL. 

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So, what kind of contract should Detroit offer Reynolds? 

The Lions will likely offer Reynolds a two-year deal for the league minimum. This will not hurt the Lions’ salary cap too badly, even if he doesn't produce in training camp and ends up getting cut. 

A two-year deal offers Reynolds more security than the one-year deals he will likely receive elsewhere, where he may be viewed more as an extra body for training camp. That factor and the security of a two-year deal may entice Reynolds to stay put in Detroit for his sixth and seventh accrued seasons (2022-23). 

The base salary in 2021, according to the league’s Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA), was $990,000 for veterans of four-six accrued seasons. 

Under CBA guidelines, an accrued season is considered playing in six or more games. 

Reynolds now has five completed accrued seasons, with six or more games played in each of those seasons. 

The minimum is to increase by $45,000 each year in Reynolds’ accrued season bracket (as of 2021), according to the language in the CBA. 

Per Sportskeeda, that means an offer that would be appropriate would be $990,000 + $45,000 for 2022 (for Reynold’s sixth accrued season), plus $1,075,000 + $90K for 2023 (Reynold’s seventh accrued season). 

The salary bracket increases with players who have seven or more accrued seasons. 

That would bring a two-year offer to $1,035,000 for 2022 and $1.165 million for 2023, plus $65K signing, roster and workout bonuses per season. 

That would bring the offer to the neighborhood of $2.330M for two years. 

While Reynolds is not going to light the stat sheet on fire, there is a place for a guy like Reynolds on this team, given the production he showed down the stretch and how he factors in from a team chemistry standpoint.