Today’s minor moves:
Cincinnati Bengals
Green Bay Packers
Jacksonville Jaguars
Miami Dolphins
Minnesota Vikings
New England Patriots
Trevor Siemian did not make it out of September healthy last season, but the veteran quarterback has resurfaced on the free agent radar. The Lions worked out the former Broncos starter, Mike Klis of 9News tweets.
This marks the first Siemian-related news since he was deemed fully healthy in March. While the 28-year-old passer had recovered from the severe ankle injury he suffered in Week 2 of last season, free agents were not permitted to work out for teams until this week.
The Lions, who went 0-8 without Matthew Stafford last year, already made a notable investment at quarterback this offseason. They signed Chase Daniel to a multiyear deal. A Siemian addition would seemingly address Detroit’s third-string quarterback spot. Siemian has not worked as a third-stringer since his 2015 rookie year, when he played behind Peyton Manning and Brock Osweiler in Denver.
A former seventh-round pick, Siemian was the Broncos’ primary starter from 2016-17. After a surprisingly productive 2016 slate, during which he threw 18 touchdown passes compared to 10 interceptions, he did not fare as well in 2017. The Broncos traded Siemian in 2018, and he spent a year as Kirk Cousins‘ backup in Minnesota. He suffered the ankle malady in Week 2 of last season, playing for a mono-stricken Sam Darnold with the Jets.
The Lions still have David Blough on their roster, rounding out their veteran-laden QB room. Blough started five games for the Lions last season, being summoned to action after Stafford and Jeff Driskel suffered injuries. The Lions traded for Blough, a UDFA passer out of Purdue, just before last season. Driskel has since signed with the Broncos.
Free agent running C.J. Prosise was among the group of players that worked out for the Lions today, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link).
Prosise, 26, worked with Detroit offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell in Seattle from 2016-17, so he presumably has a grasp of the offense Bevell is deploying with the Lions. That could prove to be especially important in this COVID-shortened offseason when meeting and practice time is at a minimum.
The Lions don’t have a dire need for running back depth at the moment. Rookie D’Andre Swift and incumbent Kerryon Johnson will serve as the club’s top two options, while Bo Scarbrough is available in reserve. Johnson has missed plenty of time due to injury in his short career, though, so Prosise could become an emergency option.
The Seahawks drafted Prosise in the third round of the 2016 draft but were never able to find a regular role for him in their offense. In four seasons in Seattle, Prosise never topped more than 30 carries or 20 receptions. Last year, he played 123 offensive snaps but handled only 33 total touches.
Per the NFL’s transaction wire, Detroit also worked out running backs Troymaine Pope and Jonathan Williams, cornerbacks Brian Allen and Dominique Hatfield, center Erik Magnuson, and linebacker Avery Moss.
The Lions have agreed to trade Michael Jackson to the Patriots, as Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. In exchange, the Pats will send an undisclosed 2022 draft pick to Detroit.
[RELATED: Filling The Voids Left By Patriots Opt Outs]
Jackson was initially set to be released, along with former first-round pick Joshua Garnett and others. Instead, the Patriots have made a low-cost move to leapfrog the rest of the waiver wire.
Jackson will give the Pats some additional secondary depth to consider after safety Patrick Chung exercised his right to opt out of the 2020 season. As far as the first-string goes, the Patriots can probably stand pat with Adrian Phillips and second-round rookie Kyle Duggar can slot in opposite Devin McCourty. The Pats still have holes to fill at tackle and linebacker, but they also have more than $33MM in cap space thanks to their league-high eight opt-outs.
Jackson, 23, entered the league as a fifth-round pick of the Cowboys. The University of Miami product has suited up for just one game in his pro career.
We’ll keep track of this weekend’s minor moves here:
Cleveland Browns
Detroit Lions
Miami Dolphins
New York Giants
The Lions released former first-round pick Joshua Garnett on Sunday morning, per a club announcement. The Lions also dropped defensive back Michael Jackson, linebacker Christian Sam, defensive end Jonathan Wynn, and wide receivers Travis Fulgham and Chris Lacy to reach the 80-man limit for single squad practices. 
The 49ers took Garnett No. 28 overall in 2016, but he never lived up to his pre-draft hype. The Stanford product started in 11 of his 15 games as a rookie, but failed to impress. Then, knee surgery wiped out his 2017 season and he played in just seven games as a reserve in 2018. The Niners cut him before 2019, and his ensuing workout tour didn’t result in a contract. The Lions picked Garnett up in February, but they’ve put him back on the free agent pile as the season draws near.
The Lions’ O-line was not particularly good at run-blocking or pass protection in 2019 and earned below-average DVOA marks in both categories. On the plus side, Russell Bodine was Detroit’s only offensive line opt-out, so they might be able to stand pat with their current group of linemen.
Here are Friday’s minor moves, with the list being updated throughout the afternoon.
Atlanta Falcons
Detroit Lions
Houston Texans
Philadelphia Eagles
Pittsburgh Steelers
A total of 67 NFL players opted out of the 2020 season, leaving teams with major roster holes and newly-found cap space. Here’s the rundown of every team’s official cap figure, via ESPN.com’s Field Yates (on Twitter):