The Detroit Lions created $35.68 million in salary cap space by restructuring the contracts of receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown and left tackle Penei Sewell, per Over The Cap.
The Lions converted $26 million of St. Brown's salary into a signing bonus to reduce his cap number by $20.8 million this year. It increases St. Brown's salary cap charges in future years to $5.2 million per year.
Detroit also converted $18.6 million of Sewell's salary into a signing bonus to reduce his cap number by $14.88 million this year. Sewell's salary cap charges in future years now increase by $3.72 million per season.
With these restructures, the Lions now have more than $38 million in salary cap space, which ranks second in the NFL. It creates financial flexibility for
Detroit to make a move to bolster its roster in 2026 if the Lions want to. An early name to watch could be Pittsburgh Steelers cornerback Joey Porter Jr., who is currently seeking a new contract. If he doesn't get a new deal, Porter may demand a trade.
What's more likely is that these restructures are setting up Sam LaPorta and Brian Branch extensions. Detroit general manager Brad Holmes has expressed he and the franchise's continued desire to lock those two stars up for the long-term.
"We still want to keep those guys around," Holmes said of Branch and LaPorta. "Those plans hadn't changed. There's a couple factors that we still gotta sort through, but in terms of us wanting those guys around, absolutely. Hopefully, we can get that done."
The Lions could opt to roll this new cap space over into the 2027 offseason, which would help with LaPorta and Branch extensions or help prep Detroit to be more active in NFL free agency.
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This article originally appeared on Lions Wire: Lions create more than $30M in salary cap space with restructures
