Brad Holmes: Salary Cap to Limit Lions in Free Agency
The Detroit Lions are facing a salary cap crunch, limiting what it can do with spending in free agency, said Lions general manager Brad Holmes.
“We’re at the juncture with our roster right now that we have identified a lot of young core pieces that we want to keep around, and unfortunately, that’s the tough part is that you got to make decisions on other players contractually that you might not be able to keep that you want to keep,” Holmes explained on Tuesday, Feb. 25, 2025, at the NFL combine in Indianapolis. “It’s not more so due to you don’t want to have the players anymore. You just can’t have everybody.”
As Holmes sees it, the Lions added seven first-round picks to the Lions roster over his first three years as general manager. He started with Penei Sewell in 2021, Aidan Hutchinson and Jameson Williams in 2022, and Jahmyr Gibbs and Jack Campbell in 2023.
Last spring, the Lions extended Sewell’s contract by $112 million. The rest are scheduled to be up for review over the next several years.
Holmes will face some tough decisions beginning next month with some of the Lions’ own free agents. Those include cornerback Carlton Davis III, defensive lineman Levi Onwuzurike, and linebacker Derrick Barnes. All might command long-term, high-market deals on the open market.
For those reasons, Holmes believes the Lions won’t be able to spend a lot on new additions. While the team has been amenable to bringing players on board in the $6- to $12-million-per-year range in the past, “obviously it does put a limit to how much you can actually spend externally in free agency when you’re trying to keep your guys that you know,” he added.
