One thing about the NFL is that because of free agency and the draft, rosters tend to change from year to year. That will be no different for the Detroit Lions in 2017 as they will have a plethora of free agents who may or may not return to the Motor City. Here is the Detroit Lions: 2017 Free Agent Report.
Which of these players would re-sign if you were Lions GM Bob Quinn?
*Note: All free agent information obtained from Spotrac.com. All definitions obtained from InsideThePylon.com.
Unrestricted Free Agents (20)
“UFA refers to an Unrestricted Free Agent, which describes a vested veteran whose contract ended at the start of the new league year. Unrestricted Free Agents differ as the vested veteran status allows the player to enter the full free agent market with his previous team having no ‘right of first refusal’. This constitutes one of the major differences between Unrestricted and Restricted Free Agency. The previous teams’ only ability to limit the potential Unrestricted Free Agent’s access to free agency is to apply the Franchise Tag (Exclusive or Non-Exclusive).”
| Anquan Boldin | WR | 36 | DET | TBD | $2,750,000 | UFA | – |
| Riley Reiff | LT | 28 | DET | TBD | $1,998,425 | UFA | – |
| Stefan Charles | DT | 28 | DET | TBD | $1,750,000 | UFA | – |
| Tyrunn Walker | DT | 26 | DET | TBD | $1,600,000 | UFA | – |
| Rafael Bush | FS | 29 | DET | TBD | $1,500,000 | UFA | – |
| Dan Orlovsky | QB | 33 | DET | TBD | $1,065,000 | UFA | – |
| Don Muhlbach | LS | 35 | DET | TBD | $1,065,000 | UFA | – |
| Jon Bostic | ILB | 25 | DET | TBD | $985,200 | UFA | – |
| Clay Harbor | TE | 29 | DET | TBD | $885,000 | UFA | – |
| Matthew Mulligan | TE | 31 | DET | TBD | $885,000 | UFA | – |
| Tim Wright | TE | 26 | DET | TBD | $815,000 | UFA | – |
| Larry Warford | G | 25 | DET | TBD | $768,750 | UFA | – |
| Andre Roberts | WR | 29 | DET | TBD | $760,000 | UFA | – |
| Josh Bynes | OLB | 27 | DET | TBD | $760,000 | UFA | – |
| Joique Bell | RB | 30 | DET | TBD | $760,000 | UFA | – |
| Asa Jackson | CB | 27 | DET | TBD | $760,000 | UFA | – |
| Crezdon Butler | CB | 29 | DET | TBD | $760,000 | UFA | – |
| Devin Taylor | DE | 27 | DET | TBD | $615,146 | UFA | – |
| Armonty Bryant | OLB | 26 | DET | TBD | $555,150 | UFA | – |
| Garrett Reynolds | G | 29 | DET | TBD | – | UFA | – |
Restricted Free Agents (4)
“A restricted free agent or RFA, refers to a player who has completed his rookie contract but has not vested (reached the four years of service time needed to become an unrestricted free agent). Restricted free agents are allowed to explore the market and to sign an offer sheet with any team in the league. They are “restricted” in that their original team can make a “tender offer” which offers the player a one year contract at a value that corresponds with a level of compensation. If a player received a tender offer and still signs an offer sheet with a new team, the original team has 5 days to match. If they choose not to match, the new team has to provide compensation according to the tender offer.”
| TJ Jones | WR | 24 | DET | TBD | $600,000 | RFA | – |
| Brandon Copeland | OLB | 25 | DET | TBD | $525,000 | RFA | – |
| Khyri Thornton | DT | 27 | DET | TBD | $525,000 | RFA | – |
| Cornelius Lucas | RT | 25 | DET | TBD | $516,667 | RFA |
Exclusive Rights Free Agents (3)
“When the contract of a player with less than three accrued seasons expires, the last team with whom they had a contract has the right to tender the player a non-guaranteed contract for the minimum salary as specified in the CBA. If the player is tendered, they no longer have the right to negotiate a contract with any other team in the NFL and can only sign a contract with their former team. Since the player has limited experience the contract they sign is almost always for the minimum salary.”
| Alex Carter | CB | 22 | DET | TBD | $525,000 | ERFA | – |
| Kerry Hyder | DT | 25 | DET | TBD | $480,000 | ERFA | – |
| Adairius Barnes | CB | 22 | DET | TBD | – | ERFA |
