Want to follow the Detroit Lions’ 2024 NFL free agency moves in one spot? Here is a tracker to follow the Lions’ latest reputable rumors and reported deals in real time over the next week.
Unrestricted free agents with a contract expiring were free to being negotiating with new teams through their agents Monday, when the legal tampering period started at noon.
Free agency officially opens Wednesday at 4 p.m. at the start of the new league year, when contracts can be signed and trades can become official.
It’s the start of a critical offseason for the Lions as the franchise tries to build on their NFC championship game appearance in 2023, and solidify their standing as a team that can compete in the playoffs annually.
STAY OR GO:Predicting what happens to Detroit Lions 16 free agents
The Lions entered Monday with about $45 million in cap space, ninth most in the league, according to overthecap.com. Much of that will remain untouched to stay available during next season.
A year ago, general manager Brad Holmes, head coach Dan Campbell and the front office targeted midsize additions in free agency, notably scooping CB Cam Sutton, FS C.J. Gardner-Johnson and RB David Montgomery, and should be looking for more defensive backs after another season of below-par pass defense.
Here are the latest updates from the Lions’ free agency. Be sure to follow our Lions beat writer Dave Birkett and Free Press sports on X (formerly Twitter).
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Detroit Lions free agency 2024 latest updates
Note: Newest updates at the top; legal tampering period begins Monday at noon, and free agency opens officially Wednesday at 4 p.m.
Lions address CB need with trade for Carlton Davis
Date: Monday, March 11
Source: Free Press
Based on how the roster looked entering the offseason, the Lions needed a No. 1 cornerback. They seemed to acquire one via trade, sending a 2024 third-round pick to Tampa Bay for Carlton Davis and 2024 and 2025 sixth-round picks.
Davis, 28, had two interceptions and nine passes defended in 12 games last season for the Buccaneers, who were 29th in the NFL in pass defense last season. He has above average size (6 feet 1, 206 pounds) and had the versatility to play all over the secondary. — Kirkland Crawford
Lions add Marcus Davenport to pass rush
Date: Monday, March 11
Source: NFL Network
The Lions needed to add some firepower to a pass rush that was ranked 27th in the league last season. They may have done just that by agreeing to a one-year deal with Marcus Davenport, who spent last season with the Minnesota Vikings.
The 28-year-old was a first-round draft pick of the New Orleans Saints in 2018, where he played for a coaching staff that employed Dan Campbell and Aaron Glenn. His best days may be behind him: he had nine sacks in 11 games in 2021. Since then, he has recorded 2.5 sacks in 19 games, including four last season with the Vikings, though he played in only four games due to an ankle injury. — Kirkland Crawford
Lions would be awesome with Tee Higgins, Dan Orlvosky says
Date: Monday, March 11
Source: ESPN’s NFL Live
Orlovsky, the former Lions backup quarterback and current ESPN analyst, said Monday afternoon the Lions would be “as explosive a unit as we have in the NFL” if they added Higgins. He would likely cost them the No. 29 overall pick in April’s draft.
Higgins was given the franchise tag for $21.8 million by the Cincinnati Bengals, and ESPN reported Monday he has requested a trade. The Bengals are expected to extend the contract of three-time Pro Bowl receiver Ja’Marr Chase this offseason.
“Tee is a (number) 1 for many teams, for most teams,” fellow analyst Louis Riddick said, adding he doesn’t think the Bengals can pay Higgins what he wants. The parties have until July 15 to agree to a long-term deal.
Alongside Orlovsky, analyst Mina Kimes said to watch teams picking at the end of the first round or early in the second round, which could be fair draft compensation. Kimes pinpointed both New England and Carolina as destinations for the 25-year-old Higgins, who has 24 touchdown catches in 58 regular season games across four seasons. Orlovsky also likes Tennessee as an option, and Riddick mentioned the New York Giants and Arizona.
As we wrote a few entries below this, the Lions have a need at outside receiver with starter Josh Reynolds hitting free agency. Slot standout Amon-Ra St. Brown is entering the final year of his rookie deal, and is expected to earn a new contract before the season that pays him around $25 million annually. The Lions also have a developing Jameson Williams, whom they spent the No. 12 overall pick on in 2022, and expect him to take a bigger role in 2024. “He is going to push to be a full-time starter now and that’s what we’re looking for,” Campbell said at the NFL combine in late February. —Marlowe Alter
MORE:NFL mock draft 2.0: Detroit Lions bolster trenches with big OL
Lions lose Jonah Jackson to Rams
Date: Monday, March 11
Source: Detroit Free Press
Jackson, the Lions’ best internal free agent, will sign for $34 million guaranteed in Los Angeles on a three-year, $51 million contract, joining the team the Lions defeated in last season’s wild-card game, 24-23. He will now protect quarterback Matthew Stafford. The Lions will host Jackson, Stafford and the Rams as part of their tough 2024 schedule they draw as NFC North Division champions. The exact date will be known when the NFL releases its full schedule, typically in May.
The Lions earlier in the day agreed on a new three-year contract with Graham Glasgow, so they will return four-fifths of their starting offensive line, a huge key to their success last season. The Lions have Colby Sorsdal, a fifth-round pick last season, and Kayode Awosika, a 25-year-old exclusive rights free agent, who started three games during the regular season and started in the NFC championship game when Jackson was out with a knee injury. The Lions could also look to the free agent market for competition and/or the draft. —Marlowe Alter
3 potential Lions defensive line targets off the board
Date: Monday, March 11
Source: Multiple
Three of the top 10 players Free Press beat writer Dave Birkett identified as Lions fits will be signing with new teams: Miami defensive tackle Christian Wilkins is off to the Las Vegas Raiders, Houston edge rusher Jonathan Greenard is coming to the NFC North with the Minnesota Vikings and Jets edge rusher Bryce Huff is going to the Philadelphia Eagles.
Wilkins reportedly will get $84.7 million guaranteed on his four-year, $110 million deal. Greenard will sign a four-year contract worth $76 million that includes $42 million guaranteed. Huff agreed to a three-year deal worth $51.1 million. Huff’s addition means the Eagles are more likely to trade either Haason Reddick or Josh Sweat.
The best free agent defensive lineman might be the Vikings’ Danielle Hunter, who had 16½ sacks last season, fifth in the league. He’s 29 and looks done in Minnesota after the Greenard signing. The Vikings also secured Dolphins edge rusher Andrew Van Ginkel on a two-year deal. —Marlowe Alter
THE TARGETS:Lions top 10 NFL free agent fits: Here’s who Brad Holmes should go after
Lions will face D’Andre Swift twice a year
Date: Monday, March 11
Source: NFL.com and ESPN
Swift, a 2020 second-round pick by the Lions, will sign a three-year, $24 million deal with the Chicago Bears, according to multiple reports. The deal is expected to include $15.3 million guaranteed. Swift ran for a career-best 1,049 yards with the Philadelphia Eagles last season in 16 games, after the Lions traded him at last year’s NFL draft for a 2025 fourth-round pick and 2023 seventh-round swaps.
The Lions and Bears have now exchanged running backs from the 2022 season: The Lions signed Chicago’s David Montgomery last offseason. They’ll now face their former playmaker in Swift, 25, who could never quite stay healthy enough and earn the trust of Campbell, after being drafted by the previous regime No. 35 overall out of Georgia. —Marlowe Alter
Tee Higgins requests trade from Bengals; will Lions be a factor?
Date: Monday, March 11
Source: ESPN
The Cincinnati Bengals gave Higgins the franchise tag on Feb. 26, but the receiver has now asked to be dealt after having no new contract extension talks for the past year, ESPN reports. Higgins, 25, had a down season in 2023 while dealing with injury, but is a big 6-foot-4 receiver who is strong on contested catches, and has 24 touchdown receptions in the regular season since being drafted No. 33 overall in 2020 out of Clemson.
The Lions do have a need out wide, with starter Josh Reynolds and backup Donovan Peoples-Jones both set to become unrestricted free agents Wednesday. Higgins would be a great fit for the Lions on paper complementing Amon-Ra St. Brown in the slot and Jameson Williams on the outside. Yet it seems a long shot since Brown is due for a big extension, and the Lions spent a first-round pick on Williams two years ago and expect him to take an expanded role this season. —Marlowe Alter
Graham Glasgow re-signs with Lions
Date: Monday, March 11
Source: Detroit Free Press
The Lions are bringing back one of their interior lineman on one of the league’s preeminent offensive lines, re-signing Graham Glasgow to a three-year deal worth $20 million. The deal includes $9.5 million guaranteed for Glasgow, who is 6 feet 6 and 315 pounds, with experience at both guard spots and center.
Glasgow, who turns 32 in August, was originally a third-round pick by the Lions in 2016 out of Michigan, and spent his first four seasons in Detroit, before signing in free agency with Denver and spending three seasons there. He was released ahead of the 2023 offseason, and came back to the Lions on a one-year deal. He played in all 20 games last season and started 18, including all three in the playoffs at right guard. He has played in 116 career games with 106 starts over eight NFL seasons.
The Lions lost starting left guard Jonah Jackson to the Rams later Monday afternoon. Backups Colby Sorsdal, a fifth-round pick last season, and Kayode Awosika, an exclusive rights free agent, should return. —Marlowe Alter
Here are the Lions’ most pressing roster needs
Date: Friday, March 8
Source: Detroit Free Press
Birkett wrote about and ranked the Lions’ needs this offseason, putting cornerback at the top of the list. The Lions will have more than a dozen unrestricted free agents and more than a quarter are in the defensive backfield with Kindle Vildor, Jerry Jacobs, Will Harris, Khalil Dorsey, and C.J. Gardner-Johnson. (Jacobs was restricted, but will be unrestricted Wednesday, after the Lions declined to tender him an offer, and already tweeted a goodbye message.)
Defensive line is the second most important need, Birkett says, and there are a number of productive free agents they could target. Among the most notable: edge rushers Danielle Hunter (Minnesota Vikings), Jonathan Greenard, (Houston Texans) and Bryce Huff (New York Jets), and inside with Christian Wilkins (Miami Dolphins) and D.J. Reader (Cincinnati Bengals).
Read the entire story, marked for subscribers. (Not yet a subscriber? We’d love to have you support our work, giving you access to all our published stories on freep.com, including on the Lions all year round.) —Marlowe Alter
ANALYSIS:Trust us: The Detroit Lions can’t get enough big men to build around
Lions make a call to the Chiefs
Date: Tuesday, March 5
Source: USA TODAY
The Lions were reportedly one of seven teams who inquired about cornerback L’Jarius Sneed once the Kansas City Chiefs officially designated him their franchise player, and he’s top of the market.
We broke down the pros and cons of the Lions trading for him, and the potential cost. Sneed, 27, would make $19.8 million on the tag, but can work out a long-term deal with the Chiefs or a team that deals for him. —Marlowe Alter
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