During the leadup to their season opener, the Detroit Lions created $35.7 million in cap space when they restructured the contracts of their best receiver, Amon-Ra St. Brown, and their top offensive lineman, left tackle Penei Sewell.
The financial maneuvering, which OvertheCap.com detailed, led some to speculate that the organization was positioning itself to make a big move before the trade deadline in November.
But Lions coach Dan Campbell downplayed that idea.
“I don’t see that,” Campbell said Tuesday, Sept. 15. “I would say this though: It gives us options, whether that be our own guys or it just gives us flexibility before the season starts because there’s a lot that can happen.”
At the outset of the offseason, general manager Brad Holmes indicated
that he wanted to keep 2023 draft picks Jahmyr Gibbs, Jack Campbell, Brian Branch and Sam LaPorta for years to come.
“Those are all players that we feel are core players that we want to keep around,” Holmes said in February.
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In the coming months, Campbell and Gibbs signed massive extensions. LaPorta and Branch, meanwhile, entered Week 1 on the final year of their original rookie deals.
“We still want to keep those guys around,” Holmes said earlier this month. "Those plans hadn't changed. There's a couple of factors that we still got to sort through, but in terms of us wanting those guys around, absolutely. Hopefully we can get that done.”
Throughout his tenure, Holmes has become known for re-signing his most successful draft picks. He has also earned a reputation for his reluctance to pull off midseason swaps and has acquired only two players via trade in the window between Week 1 and the deadline: edge rusher Za’Darius Smith in 2024 and former Michigan receiver Donovan-Peoples Jones the previous year.
So Campbell’s comment shouldn’t come as a surprise even with the Lions possessing approximately $39 million in cap space − the second-largest sum in the league.
Contact Rainer Sabin at rsabin@freepress.com. Follow him @RainerSabin on X.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: A big trade coming with Detroit Lions' new cap space? Not so fast, says Dan Campbell
