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As the brunt of the spending in NFL free agency fades, the Detroit Lions should be glad they didn’t sign these five players.
Right off the bat, the Detroit Lions made their plan for 2022 free agency clear. A run of re-signings (Tracy Walker, Alex Anzalone, Tim Boyle, Josh Reynolds, Kalif Raymond, etc.), and just two outside signings in the first seven days (DJ Chark, Garrett Griffin) showed they would not stretch much (if at all) to spend.
All in all, with free agency generally best-used as a supplement to a core of players built through the draft, it’s not a bad plan for the Lions to be conservative in free agency this offseason. They have five of the first 100 picks in this year’s draft, with a second first-round pick in their pocket again next year via the Matthew Stafford trade.
But resisting the temptation to spend big to fill needs with outside free agents, or overpay to keep your own because you like them so much, can be difficult for teams to do. So credit to the Lions and general manager Brad Holmes for sticking to the plan.
With sticking to the plan despite the “free agency frenzy” going on around them in mind, here are five free agents the Lions should be glad they didn’t sign.