Just like that, the Lions have $30 million more to spend this offseason -- and Brad Holmes might have more players to pursue.
The NFL announced last week that the salary cap is rising from $224.8 million to a record $255.4 million in 2024, the largest jump -- by far -- in its 30-year existence. Could that change the Lions' cautious approach to free agency?
"I think the best way to say it is that you have to keep it in perspective and keep it in mind," GM Brad Holmes said Monday on 97.1 The Ticket. "Does it open up a possibility of, you may be able to do something that you did not think you were going to be able to do beforehand?"
That's the multi-million-dollar question that Holmes will answer next month. He said at the outset of the offseason that the Lions aren't expecting to make "as many high-price external adds," with so many players to take care of in-house. The Lions have extensions to hand out in the months and years ahead to the likes of Jared Goff, Amon-Ra St. Brown, Penei Sewell and Alim McNeill, just for starters.
Then again, they were already among the NFL's leaders in cap space before the spike. Now they have about $65 million in spending room, according to Spotrac. Holmes acknowledged that it could steer them toward higher-priced players in free agency.
"When you’re budgeting in advance for free agency, you probably have a good decision on what you want to do with your own players in terms of re-signs and extensions," he said. "But when you look externally, which I think that’s where you have to be the most careful, you might want to open up and say, ‘We could get another depth player here on an external add,’ or do you want to just say, ‘We had this handful of players that we were looking to add from an external standpoint. Now that we have this much more (cap room) available, maybe we can get a bigger fish.’
"There’s a lot of different ways you can slice it. But you just gotta be mindful of it, keep it in perspective. I don’t think you just scrap your plans, though."
The Lions' plans remain clear: they are building through the draft. That's where they intend to find their "cornerstone players," Holmes said, while using free agency to fill needs. Asked if the Lions will indeed target the bigger fish with their extra cap space, Holmes said, "We’ve kept it pretty strategic and selective in terms of the resources that we’ve had."
"But it’s very subjective of what you deem a bigger fish," he said. "I think I have an idea because it’s the quote-unquote name, but, again, it’s going to be the same approach that we’ve always had. It’s easy to win the headlines, it’s easy to win March. That’s easy to win. But man, we’re trying to win in December. And those are two different perspectives. And that’s how you gotta plan and I think that’s how you have to approach it."
The big names that the Lions could target include edge rusher Danielle Hunter, defensive tackle Chris Jones and cornerback L'Jarius Sneed, all of whom would fill needs on defense. And a big swing might make sense for a team coming off a trip to the NFC title game. But Holmes said he doesn't "feel a pressure or an urgency" to go big, because he's "not a big believer ... in the narrative that 'they’re one guy away.'"
"Because what you’re saying is, you might sign that one player in March and that one player looks good in black and white on a depth chart in March and April and all through the summer. But what if that one player isn’t available in October or November in December?" said Holmes. "Or you’re saying, one player on top of all the other players you already have, but what if that one player is available in November, December, but all the other players are not?
"So I think that’s where you gotta be a little careful about, 'Man, you just need that one player.' No, I’m not a big believer in that."
Whatever the Lions' cap situation is, Holmes reiterated that they'll stay true to what he said last offseason: "We just don’t want to take any steps backward, we want to keep improving. We’re going to take the same approach."
"What we’ve done so far, that’s what’s been working," he said. "We’ll adjust to different circumstances when needed, but the overall approach, that’s not changing."