With the Detroit Lions’ season officially coming to a close last Sunday, the team can now begin building its 90-man roster for the offseason. The Lions entered the offseason with 36 players under contract, but on Monday, they announced they’ve added another 12 players: re-signing three exclusive rights free agents (ERFAs) and nine former practice squad players to “futures” contracts.
Here is a list of the Lions’ announced transactions:
ERFA signings
- RB Jacob Saylors
- IOL Michael Niese
- CB Nick Whiteside
Futures signings
- RB Jabari Small
- WR Jackson Meeks
- WR Malik Cunningham
- TE Zach Horton
- OT Devin Cochran
- IOL Mason Miller
- EDGE Ahmed Hassanein
- DL Chris Smith
- SAF Loren Strickland
Saylors, Niese, and Whiteside all
finished the season on the active roster, but because they have less than three accrued seasons in the NFL, they fall into the ERFA category. Players who fall under the ERFA designation have a few unique characteristics assigned to their eligibility in the offseason: the main stipulation being that they are only allowed to negotiate a new contract with their current team, unless the team releases them from the designation. That typically means the team will offer a player a league minimum contract with little to no guarantees, and the player must accept it or sit out the season.
Curiously, kicker Jake Bates, who is also an ERFA, was not included in the announcement. What that likely indicates is that the Lions are likely debating a longer contract extension, especially considering that two weeks ago, special teams coordinator Dave Fipp indicated that the Lions plan on retaining Bates in 2026:
“Number one, just look at the big picture. I mean, do you have a good player or not? I mean to me, clearly, we have a very, very good player. If you put him on the streets, there would be a bunch of teams claiming him right away. And the truth is, we’d have a really hard time finding a guy even near the same player as him.”
As for the nine players signed to a futures contract, each finished the season on the Lions’ practice squad and was scheduled to become a “street free agent” (SFA) at the end of the week. SFAs are eligible for futures contracts, and teams utilize them as a way of delaying a player’s cap hit until the start of the league new year (which coincides with free agency).
Meeks, Cunningham, Horton, Cochran, and Strickland all saw game action this season via roster elevations, but most eyes will be on Hassanein, the Lions’ sixth-round pick from the 2025 NFL Draft, due to his personality, work ethic, backstory, and potential. Hassanein flashed real pass rushing potential in training camp, but it was clear he still needed to polish his game. Now healthy, with a half-season of practice squad experience, and a full offseason in the Lions’ training program, the young edge rusher could be in for a bigger role in the near future.
It’s worth noting that there were another seven players who ended the season on the Lions’ practice squad but did not receive a futures contract on Monday. Oftentimes, additional moves are made in the coming days, so any of the players listed below could still rejoin the Lions.
- QB C.J. Bethard
- TE Giovanni Ricci
- OT Chris Hubbard
- DL Myles Adams
- DL Pat O’Connor
- CB Keenan Garber
- SAF Damontae Kazee
