According a report by Tom Pelissero of the NFL Network, Detroit Lions is planning to launch linebacker Christian Jones. UDPATE: The Detroit Lions now I confirmed it.
Jones was a prominent contributor under coach Matt Patricia after the team acquired him as a free agency in 2018. In fact, in the middle of the 2019 season, Lions gave him a two-year extension, preventing him from reaching the free agency last year.
However, the real efficiency of his game during his time in Detroit was hotly debated. He obtained PFF scores of just 45.5 and 45.7 over the past two seasons and was specifically a vulnerability in coverage while providing few rush passes (3.0 sacks over three seasons).
The move is expected to free up more than $ 2.5 million in cap, while consuming almost $ 2.2 million in dead cap. Part of this is due to the one-year accelerated bonus money that was added to the extension.
The Lions also announced that reserve striker Russell Bodine has been launched. Bodine received a veteran’s minimum wage ($ 990,000) that was only partly counted in the limit due to the veteran’s salary benefit. The minimum limit that they will create with this change ($ 850,000) will be replaced by a similar contract already on the list, but not currently included in the first 51 – which are the only contracts that count against the salary cap in the new league year begins. In other words, there is no significant limit relief with this movement.
Bodine chose to leave the 2020 season due to concerns from COVID, but was considered a decent depth with initial experience, specifically as a center.
Combining Jones’ release with the account of the release of Desmond Trufant and Jamie Collins Senior’s contract restructuring (the details are not yet clear), Lions probably created at least $ 15 million in capitalization space for the 2021 season. However, more moves are still expected before the new league year in March.