What to Know about Lions' Salary Cap Situation

Logan Lamorandier details what to know about the Lions' 2020 salary cap situation

The start of NFL free agency is drawing near. 

It officially begins at 4 p.m. EST on Wednesday, March 18, but the legal tampering period kicks off on the 16th. 

During that tampering period, teams and agents can negotiate deals. 

In essence, teams can start signing free agents on March 16. 

By 4 p.m. on the 18th, teams must do the following:   

- Exercise options for 2020 on all players that have option clauses in their 2019 contracts.

- Submit qualifying offers to their restricted free agents with expiring contracts to retain the right of first refusal and compensation.

- Submit a minimum salary tender to retain exclusive negotiating rights with their players that have expiring contracts and fewer than three accrued seasons of free agency credit.

Also, the “Rule of 51” begins. Translation: The squad's top-51, highest-paid 2020 salaries must be under the 2020 salary cap. 

Two other notes: 

- All 2019 player contracts will expire. 

- Trading period for 2020 begins.

Now, how do the Lions stack up in terms of cap space for 2020?

According to Spotrac, the Lions are projected to have the 19th-most money to spend in the NFL with $46.8 million -- most of any team in the NFC North -- if the 2020 cap is set at $199 million. 

That figure could change by a couple million in either direction, depending on the 2020 cap space figure -- which should be determined in the coming days. 

As of now, the salary cap is estimated to fall between $196.8 million and $201.2 million. For reference, last year's salary cap was set at $188.2 million.  

Lions' top-five 2020 cap hits

QB Matthew Stafford - $21.3 million

DE Trey Flowers - $16.7 million

CB Darius Slay - $13.4 million

RT Rick Wagner - $11.9 million

LT Taylor Decker - $10.4 million

Lions' dead-cap hits

DT Damon Harrison: $5 million

S Quandre Diggs: $3.6 million

P Sam Martin: $500,000

CB Teez Tabor: $411,906

TE Michael Roberts: $150,784

WR Travis Fulgham: $133,614

TE Isaac Nauta: $75,048

DT PJ Johnson: $72,111

LB Tre Lamar: $6,667

WR Brandon Powell: $4,000

Dead-cap total: $9,957,468 

Detroit general manager Bob Quinn will have some open space to work with once free agency begins, and he is going to need it. 

With Damon Harrison gone and both Mike Daniels and A'Shawn Robinson set to test the free-agent market, the defensive tackle spot is going to need some reshaping done to it. 

Also, both offensive guard Graham Glasgow and fellow guard Kenny Wiggins have expiring contracts -- another hole the Lions will likely have to fill. 

On top of all that, there are plenty of positions that could be upgraded. 

It will be up to Quinn to determine where to allocate the Lions' money. 

Given that the Lions regime is on the hot seat, expect them to aggressively pursue at least a couple of top-tier free agents. 

After that, it's probably time to shop the bargain bin. 

Remember, the Lions kept over $17 million in open cap space a year ago to give themselves flexibility for trades and acquisitions midseason. 

We'll see if Quinn takes the same approach in 2020 while his job is on the line. 

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