FRIDAY, 12:16pm: The Lions converted about $2.333MM of Bush’s 2014 base salary to a signing bonus, according to Pelissero (via Twitter). That means the move created somewhere in the neighborhood of $1.55MM in ’14 cap room for the team.
THURSDAY, 2:42pm: The Lions have reworked the contract of running back Reggie Bush in order to create some cap space, according to Tom Pelissero of USA Today (via Twitter). Josh Katzenstein of the Detroit News confirms Pelissero’s report, adding (via Twitter) that it’s a simple restructure, with a portion of Bush’s 2014 base salary having been converted to a signing bonus.
The exact figures on Bush’s restructure aren’t clear — Pelissero notes that Bush is making $3.5MM this year, but that was the veteran running back’s base salary prior to the move. In any case, the cap savings will be minimal. Even if Bush’s salary was reduced to the minimum, with the difference being converted into a prorated bonus, it would create less than $2MM in cap savings.
Nonetheless, even that modest a figure should be valuable for the Lions, who don’t have a ton of breathing room under the cap, according to Over The Cap’s figures. The restructuring likely isn’t a precursor to a major signing or extension, but rather will allow the team to add reinforcements as necessary throughout the season.
Bush remains under contract with the Lions through 2016.