When the calendar flips to June 1st, it’s a big deal for the NFL. Even though it’s the heart of the offseason, the date looms large for teams and players.
The contractual language changes on June 1st. Teams can spread out salary cap hits on players released or traded after June 1st instead of taking the whole cap hit on the current season.
That’s one of the reasons why there are trade rumors flying around the league right now, including those with Atlanta WR Julio Jones, Green Bay QB Aaron Rodgers, Vikings DE Danielle Hunter and Philadelphia TE Zach Ertz. Many of those players have problematic contracts for their teams strapped for cap room.
The Lions are in good shape cap-wise, but could free up more money to roll over into 2022 and do higher-end free agent shopping in the coming offseason by moving on from some vets now.
Don’t expect the rebuilding Lions to be buyers, certainly not for big-ticket veterans like Jones or Houston EDGE Whitney Mercilus. But Detroit does have a few players who are candidates to get moved after June 1st.
Jamie Collins: Prior to June 1st, moving on from Collins would cost the Lions over $4 million against the salary cap. After June 1st, the team would save $2 million.
Collins remains the top LB on the team and an impressive athlete for his age, but the 31-year-old’s contract is set up such that 2021 is almost certainly his last season in Detroit. With newcomers Alex Anzalone and rookie Derrick Barnes entering the mix and younger, cheaper Jahlani Tavai in much better shape after dropping significant weight, Collins could be more valuable to a contender looking for a boost than he is for the Lions in 2021.
Trey Flowers: Flowers is the highest-paid Lion entering 2021 and arguably the team’s best overall player. But he’s changing positions (from DE to OLB) in a new-look defense that might not suit his particular set of skills all that well. His cap figure jumps to over 10 percent of the team’s allocation in both 2022 and 2023, too. Read that as Flowers not being long for Detroit, barring an unexpected restructure.
After June 1st, the 2021 cap penalty for trading Flowers drops over $11 million for Detroit, down to just $1.675 million.
Tyrell Crosby: Crosby’s cap status doesn’t change after June 1st, but he’s still a good candidate to get traded. The Lions drafted Penei Sewell in the first round to take Crosby’s starting RT job, and he’s now entering the final year of his contract. Trading Crosby would free up over $2.1 million in cap room that the Lions could rollover.
Halapoulivaati Vaitai: Moving the projected starting right guard would be a stunner, especially after the resounding vote of confidence in “Big V” from the coaching staff during OTAs. But just for argument’s sake, the Lions would save $4.2 million in cap penalties by moving Vaitai post-June 1st. Again, do not expect any action here.