The onset of NFL free agency is a little over a month away. The Detroit Lions have 18 pending unrestricted free agents as the team enters the new league year.
Who will stay in Detroit? Which ones will be playing elsewhere in 2023?
Here’s an early prediction for the fates of all 18 Lions’ unrestricted free agents.
WR DJ Chark
Chark played like a legit No. 1 wideout down the stretch when he was finally healthy. Injuries could keep Chark’s market value in the $10 million-$13 million range. Even that is pricey for Detroit with Jameson Williams expected to step into the role Chark filled in 2022.
Verdict: Go
RB Jamaal Williams
Williams led the NFL in rushing touchdowns and proved to be a reliable between-the-tackles grinder. He hit 1,000 yards rushing, typically a payday escalator.
The considerable supply on the free agent market should help the Lions keep their emotional leader without overpaying for production Williams is unlikely to match again. Should…
Verdict: Stay
RG Evan Brown
Brown was a great scrap heap find as a reserve interior OL. Pressed into duty as the full-time starting center in 2021 for an injured Frank Ragnow, Brown played very well. Pressed into full-time starting right guard duty in 2022 for several injured Lions, he was in over his head a bit.
Someone will almost certainly pay Brown to be their starting center in 2023. He’s more than good enough to merit that level of salary and status. It won’t be the Lions.
Verdict: Go
CB Mike Hughes
Hughes got off to a bad start in his first year in Detroit. He played almost exclusively in the slot in the first four weeks and wasn’t good there, no small part of why the Lions defense was historically terrible in that timeframe.
Once he moved outside, Hughes performed more capably. He proved to be an asset in run defense while playing outside, not something his career profile would have indicated. Still, Detroit was his third team in as many seasons and doesn’t appear to be a long-term home–not if another team will give him more than a one-year, prove-it deal. I think someone else will do that.
Verdict: Go
LB Alex Anzalone
This is the toughest one on the entire list. Anzalone played the best football of his career in the second half of the season (the Carolina game excepted), flying around the field making plays and cutting back on both the lapses in coverage and the missed tackles.
The Lions coaches trust him and the team captain is very respected by his mates. However, Anzalone turns 29 in September and has never had the big NFL payday. Coming off his best season and being healthy, it’s hard to see him not chasing that more substantial financial security from a team that will devote more money to the off-ball LB spot than this Lions regime will ever do.
Verdict: Go
K Michael Badgley
Badgley was an above-average kicker for the Lions in 2022 in field goals and extra points, where he was a perfect 33-for-33. His range goes out to 53 yards, though he has connected from 59 in the NFL.
Expect Badgley back. Also expect real competition in one form or another, in part because he’s not been good on kickoffs.
Verdict: Stay
LB Chris Board
Board was brought in as much for special teams as he was for adding speed at off-ball LB on defense. He never really blended in pass defense and wasn’t as big of an asset on punt/kick coverage units as hoped for in a role that can just as easily be filled by a Day 3 rookie making less money but with more positional upside.
Verdict: Go
CB Amani Oruwariye
Oruwariye’s star fell from the sky like the cornerback version of Linsanity. Whatever magic he found in 2021 as the Lions’ most reliable CB that season was shattered in healthy scratches in 2022. Oruwariye, also the team’s oldest CB last season, desperately needs a fresh start elsewhere.
Verdict: Go
DL John Cominsky
Arguably the NFL’s best waiver claim of 2022, Cominsky quickly proved his value in Detroit. Everything about the Lions defense was better when No. 79 was on the field, including a certain No. 97 playing next to him.
Cominsky begged the Lions to bring him back. Expect them to listen.
Verdict: Stay
LB Josh Woods
Woods barely played at linebacker, but that’s fine. He was the captain of the fantastic special teams units and a great asset in making coordinator Dave Fipp’s punt and kick teams so effective.
Verdict: Stay
S DeShon Elliott
Elliott is another tough call. He was a strong, steadying influence on a young secondary and one of the team’s best tacklers and run defenders. It was not coincidental that the resurgent D collapsed in Carolina when Elliott was out.
The problem for Elliott is that he’s a durability liability. He’s missed 25 games in four NFL seasons and had injury problems coming out of Texas. Detroit will probably have to find someone more reliably available at safety. But the injuries also mean Elliott’ss value and demand from other teams is also lower than it should be for a player of his talents.
Verdict: Stay
QB Nate Sudfeld
Sudfeld has thrown 37 passes in seven NFL seasons, including zero in 17 games in Detroit in 2022. He’s been involved in 88 total transactions in that time. most of them passing between the practice squad and active roster across several different teams. That’s not a player you pay for until you really cannot find anyone else.
Verdict: Go
DT Isaiah Buggs
Like a couple of the other first-year Lions defenders in 2022, it took Buggs a little time to figure out his part. Once he did, Buggs proved to be an effective anchor in the middle against the run and a really good teammate too.
Buggs will be 27 and could be looking for his first real big payout, something the Lions would have difficulty matching. If that market isn’t there, and it very well might not be, it’s hard to see Buggs anywhere else for similar money to what Detroit figures to offer.
Verdict: Stay
RB Justin Jackson
Jackson made his mark as a good No. 3 running back and capable kick return man after joining the Lions last summer. His status is somewhat dependent upon Jamaal Williams; it’s hard to see the Lions paying for two free agent RBs when they still have D’Andre Swift and Craig Reynolds (a restricted free agent) under control, plus 2021 seventh-rounder Jermar Jefferson stuck on the practice squad level.
Verdict: Go
CB Will Harris
Harris is in a similar situation with Alex Anzalone. Like the hirsute LB, Harris overcame years of being a below-average starter by finishing the 2022 year strongly as Detroit’s heavy nickel.
Like Anzalone, Harris is a well-respected veteran whom the coaching staff likes and trusts a lot. He’s positionally versatile and very smart, making him an ideal No. 4 safety/No. 5 cornerback. But if the Lions can find someone they like as much as Harris to fill that role for less money, they won’t hesitate to make that choice.
Verdict: Stay
S C.J. Moore
Moore left in 2022 and came back. He is a very good special teams asset but has never developed into a player the Lions trust to play on defense other than in an emergency.
Verdict: Go
EDGE Austin Bryant
Bryant got passed on the DE depth chart by several others in 2022 and only remained to the end of the year because of health concerns with guys like the Okwara brothers, Josh Paschal and Cominsky. Bryant is a better schematic fit for the old Matt Patricia 3-4 base D, too.
Verdict: Go
OL Dan Skipper
Skipper has been involved in over 40 transactions with the Lions since 2017. He’s a great utility lineman who proved he can kick inside to guard in a pinch in 2022. He’s also a guy the Lions can probably expect to be available to sign in September if they need him even if they let him go in March.
Verdict: Go (for now anyway)
