The Lions' 2021 sack leader gave up money last week to stay with the team: Charles Harris. Now their 2020 sack leader has, too.
Lots of it.
Romeo Okwara has agreed to a renegotiated contact -- that is, a pay cut -- that will drop his base salary from $11 million to $2 million in 2023 and save the Lions $8.9 million in cap space, per ESPN.
Okwara, 27, was a cut candidate for the Lions after missing most of the last two seasons while recovering from a torn Achilles, on the heels of signing a three-year, $37 million contract with Detroit following his breakout season in 2020.
The Lions would have saved $7.5 million in cap space by releasing Okwara. Instead, they keep him and save more. In a league where you can never have too many pass rushers, that's a good bit of work by GM Brad Holmes.
Okwara does stand to make some of his money back in game-by-game roster bonuses, similar to the Lions' new agreement with Harris, who had been a cut candidate himself after missing 11 games last season due to a groin injury.
Harris, who had signed a two-year, $13 million deal with Detroit after breaking out in 2021, took a pay cut last that lowered his salary by $3 million in 2023.
The cap savings, which started with the release of defensive lineman Michael Brockers, have helped the Lions attack free agency and land key pieces like cornerback Cam Sutton, safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson and running back David Montgomery.
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