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Detroit Lions News & Rumors

LB Jamie Collins Signs With Lions

March 16th, 2020 at 8:40pm CST by Ben Levine

Jamie Collins is reuniting with Matt Patricia. The free agent linebacker has signed with the Lions, reports Albert Breer of TheMMQB.com (via Twitter). It’s a three-year deal worth $30MM, including $18MM guaranteed, per NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport (Twitter link).

Following a two-plus year stint with the Browns, Collins reunited with the Patriots last offseason on a one-year deal. The 30-year-old ended up setting a career-high with seven sacks to go along with 81 tackles, three interceptions and three forced fumbles. Collins played under Patricia during his first stint in New England.

We’ve heard several times (including earlier tonight) that the Saints were pursuing the veteran linebacker. The Patriots were also hoping to retain their former second-round pick. Ultimately, Collins presumably decided to take the money and the opportunity to team up with his former coordinator.

The Lions were busy this morning, handing out a massive contract to former Eagles offensive tackle Halapoulivaati Vaitai. Tonight, they’ve clearly shifted their focus to the defensive side of the ball.

Broncos Sign Graham Glasgow

March 16th, 2020 at 5:12pm CST by Marc Delucchi

ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports that the Broncos have signed offensive lineman Graham Glasgow to a four-year, $44MM contract, which includes $26MM in guarantees. Glasgow has been a valuable starter on the interior of the Lions offensive line since he was drafted in 2016. Detroit will now have to replace one of their most consistent contributors.

Glasgow has played both guard spots and at center during his tenure in Motown, but primarily lined up at right guard last season (in 788 of his 872 snaps, per Pro Football Focus). The $11MM annual value of Glasgow’s contract would rank just outside the top-five for the right guard position, just behind Trai Turner and tied with Gabe Jackson. According to PFF’s player grades, Glasgow ranked as the 12th best guard out of the 80 players who qualified last season.

Following the news, Mike Klis of 9News added that Glasgow was team president John Elway‘s top offensive line target. Glasgow had been heavily tied to the Jets prior to the start of free agency, but Gang Green will have to look for another option to reinforce their line.

Lions Sign Halapoulivaati Vaitai

March 16th, 2020 at 4:29pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

A slightly more under the radar name is getting a huge payday. Former Eagles offensive tackle Halapoulivaati Vaitai is signing a massive five-year, $50MM contract with the Lions, a source told Adam Caplan of Sirius XM NFL Radio (Twitter link).

It’s a pretty remarkable sum considering Vaitai has only started four games over the past two years. It wasn’t totally unexpected though, as we heard a couple of weeks ago that he would likely command between $8-12MM annually. Vaitai has clearly always had talent, but he was buried on the depth chart due to the Eagles’ abundance of tackles. Philly has announced that Jason Peters will be allowed to hit free agency, and they’ll move forward with Andre Dillard and Lane Johnson as their tackles.

Vaitai was drafted in the fifth-round in 2016, and he ended up starting six games as a rookie. The following year he started ten games, winning Super Bowl LII with the team. As the Eagles got healthy at tackle he took a bit of a backseat, starting only once in 2018 and three times this past season.

The Lions released starting right tackle Ricky Wagner a few days ago, perhaps foreshadowing this move. The Lions are also letting starting right guard Graham Glasgow, who has received very strong marks from Pro Football Focus, walk in free agency, so their offensive line is going to look a lot different next year.

Matthew Stafford missed half of last season due to injury, so obviously protecting him will be a priority in 2020. The unit is getting an overhaul, and they’ll have to build chemistry in a hurry as a result. Vaitai is 26, and together with 26-year-old former first-rounder left tackle Taylor Decker, Detroit is surely hoping they’ve established a long-term tackle pairing.

RFA/ERFA Tender Decisions: 3/16/20

March 16th, 2020 at 4:23pm CST by Sam Robinson

Monday’s restricted free agent and exclusive rights free agent tender decisions will be posted below. Deals will be updated throughout the day.

RFAs

Tendered at original-round level:

Non-tendered:

ERFAs

Tendered:

Non-tendered:

  • Chiefs: TE David Wells

Jets To Ramp Up Graham Glasgow Pursuit

March 16th, 2020 at 10:52am CST by Zachary Links

The Jets are expected to “ramp up” their pursuit of Graham Glasgow, according to Connor Hughes of The Athletic (on Twitter). They have little choice at this point – Patriots offensive lineman Joe Thuney was believed to be their top target, but he has been yanked from the open market after the Patriots used the franchise tag on him. 

The Lions, meanwhile, are poised to let the interior lineman walk.

“I’m bummed that I’m not able to stay cause I love Michigan and I love the Detroit area,” Glasgow said recently. “But you don’t play football forever, so I think that being able to go somewhere else and make some money is an exciting thing.”

Glasgow spent five years in college at Michigan and then the first four years of his pro career in Detroit, but a relocation is in his future. The Jets, who are desperate to protect Sam Darnold and open up holes for Le’Veon Bell, could be the team to back up a Brinks truck for him.

Glasgow has been a starter for the bulk of his career. A third-round pick in 2016, Glasgow has started at least 15 games in each of the past three campaigns. He’s also versatile, with experience at both center and right guard.

In 2019, Glasgow graded out as one of the better interior protectors in the NFL, according to Pro Football Focus.

NFC North Notes: Harris, Kwiatkoski, Kearse, Kilgo

March 14th, 2020 at 9:17pm CST by Marc Delucchi

The Vikings secondary was one of the most inconsistent parts of their defense last season, but safety Anthony Harris remained a star amidst an inconsistent supporting cast. While Harris is set to become a free agent, Minnesota fans should be happy to know that he has a positive view of the Vikings. In an interview on Sirius XM, Harris stated, “I love the organization.”

Here are a few more notes from the NFC North:

  • The Bears organization has seen linebacker Nick Kwiatkoski progress into a legitimate contributor since he was selected in the 4th round of the 2016 draft. However, Dan Pompei of The Athletic, reports that after signing fellow linebacker Danny Trevathan to a three-year extension, Chicago appears prepared to let Kwiatkoski leave the organization via free agency.
  • Vikings impending free-agent defensive back Jayron Kearse took to Twitter on Friday and said he does not want to return to the team. A pair of Vikings fans were engaging in common social media speculation about the various ways Minnesota could approach the offseason. When one argued that they thought Jayron wanted to stay in the twin cities, Kearse jumped in and said, “No jayron doesn’t want to come back.”
  • Tom Pelissero of NFL.com reports Lions nose tackle Darius Kilgo will soon be cleared to return to action from the quadriceps injury that cost him all of last season. Pelissero further notes that Detroit has no intention of resigning Kilgo, but it’s obviously ideal for Kilgo to be back to health before entering the open market. Of course, teams would likely want to see Kilgo workout in person, but the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak could make teams more tentative to give Kilgo any guarantee if they are unable to see him in person.

Broncos Notes: Harrises, Wolfe, OL, RBs

March 14th, 2020 at 2:48pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Broncos both traded for A.J. Bouye (and a $13MM salary) and used their franchise tag on Justin Simmons, signaling Chris Harris‘ time in Denver was almost certainly up. The four-time Pro Bowler said during an NFL Network appearance the door is “pretty much” closed on a 10th Broncos season (Twitter link via The Athletic’s Nicki Jhabvala). The decorated cornerback is expected to have at least 10 teams pursuing him, Troy Renck of Denver7 tweets. The Browns, Cardinals, Chargers, Chiefs, Cowboys, Jets, Lions, Raiders, Seahawks and Texans are expected to have “strong” interest in signing the 30-year-old defender, Renck adds. This list interestingly omits the Eagles, who have been linked to Harris at multiple junctures over the past five months.

Although Harris is arguably the best slot cornerback in NFL history, his consistent usage as a boundary player as well will likely push his market near the current corner standard of $15MM per year. He turned down the Broncos’ three-year, $36MM proposal before the trade deadline.

Here is the latest out of Denver:

  • Denver’s Week 1 starting defensive line consisted of Derek Wolfe, Shelby Harris and Adam Gotsis. All three are poised to hit the market, with Gotsis doing so after being benched early in the season. Shelby Harris would prefer to stay in Denver but has acknowledged, at 28, this is his lone chance at a big payday. The Colts are among the teams interested in the late-blooming D-lineman, Renck notes.
  • On the Wolfe subject, the eight-year veteran has been the most vocal about returning to Denver. His agent’s Combine meeting with the Broncos led him to believe he will hit the market. “[The Broncos] talked to my agent at the Combine. … It looks like they’re going to let me hit free agency, see what the market is,” Wolfe said during an interview with KOA Radio (via DNVR Sports’ Andrew Mason, on Twitter). “… It’s a nice way of saying, ‘We like you; we love you, but not for that kind of money.” The Broncos may bring back Wolfe or Shelby Harris, but not both. The team drafted Dre’Mont Jones in Round 3 last year, so it may be covered at one of its defensive end spots. Wolfe, 29, said during an interview with Sirius XM Radio (audio link) he is eyeing two to four more seasons.
  • The Broncos’ interest in a running back stems not necessarily from their current regime’s desire to replace Phillip Lindsay but to complement him, per Renck, who adds the team is expected to add a bigger back in either free agency or the draft. Royce Freeman has underwhelmed in that role over the past two seasons.
  • The Broncos plan to pursue a guard on the market, Renck notes (on Twitter). They declined Ronald Leary‘s 2020 option, so a replacement will be needed. They also may try to add a swing tackle and are likely to draft a tackle, which makes sense given left tackle Garett Bolles‘ struggles.
  • Elijah Wilkinson was supposed to work as a Broncos swing man in 2019, but Ja’Wuan James‘ near-season-long absence thrust Wilkinson into Denver’s right tackle spot. He spent time as a first-string guard in 2018 and stands to factor into the Broncos’ 2020 plans at one of those two positions. The team is expected to use a priority tender on Wilkinson, per Renck. This will likely mean a second-round tender. That will cost more than $3MM.

Lions Re-Sign LS Don Muhlbach

March 14th, 2020 at 12:31pm CST by Ben Levine

Don Muhlbach is returning to Detroit for a 17th season. The team announced today that they’ve re-signed the veteran long snapper.

While terms of the deal aren’t known, ESPN’s Michael Rothstein assumes that it’s a minimum-salary pact. Muhlbach has played the past few seasons under this kind of deal.

The 38-year-old has made all 244 of his career appearance with the Lions, and he’s only missed a single game since the start of the 2006 season. As Josh Alper of ProFootballTalk.com points out, Muhlbach is second in franchise history in games played (behind kicker Jason Hanson). The long snapper earned a pair of Pro Bowl nods (2012, 2018) during his career.

As Rothstein notes, the long snapper will some have competition for the gig in 2020. The organization signed James Fisher to a futures contract earlier this offseason.

Lions Release T Ricky Wagner

March 13th, 2020 at 2:14pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Lions will make a major change along their offensive line. They are releasing veteran right tackle Ricky Wagner.

Wagner spent three seasons in this role with Detroit, but his release will provide the Lions with $6.1MM in cap space. Going into his eighth season, Wagner was set to make $9MM. Two years remained on Wagner’s Detroit deal.

Detroit signed Wagner to a five-year, $47.5MM deal in 2017. He started all 40 games in which he appeared and, over the first two years of the contract, produced a positive Pro Football Focus review. This past season, however, the 30-year-old blocker graded as PFF’s No. 61 overall tackle. This will mean the Lions are set to lose two starters from their past three O-lines, with guard Graham Glasgow on track to be a coveted free agent.

With this move, the Lions will move back north of $50MM in cap space. They stand to possess at least $53MM, though other cuts could surely follow the Wagner decision. Wagner now heads to a marketplace that will feature a few newly available tackles, including Jason Peters, Trent Williams and Cordy Glenn.

NFC North Notes: Packers, Stafford, Bears

March 13th, 2020 at 9:48am CST by Sam Robinson

Bryan Bulaga did not quite make it to free agency in 2015; the Packers extended their starting right tackle at the 11th hour. This time, he could be on the move. The 10-year veteran is expected to generate immense interest, with Charles Robinson of Yahoo.com tweeting the Bulaga market should come in around $12MM per year. Bulaga signed for five years and $33.75MM five years ago, so this would mark a substantial raise for the veteran. Despite going into his 11th year, Bulaga will only be 31 come Week 1. After more injury trouble surfaced in 2017, he has played in 30 of a possible 32 regular-season games since.

Here is the latest from the NFC North:

  • The Lions appear likely to have their quarterback back in time for OTAs. Matthew Stafford has healed up from the back injury that ended his 2019 season, according to his wife (Instagram link). Kelly Stafford indicated her husband has been healed for several weeks now. Kelly recently refuted a report the Staffords wanted out of Detroit, and GM Bob Quinn said the Lions are not shopping him. While this still figures to be a key year for the longest-tenured starting quarterback in Lions history, Stafford should be able to throw come April.
  • If the Raiders make Derek Carr available, Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune expects the Bears to show interest. The Bears are interested in bringing in competition for Mitchell Trubisky; Carr might be overqualified for such a role. The third-place MVP finisher in 2016 posted the NFL’s 10th-best QBR last season — well north of Trubisky, whose 39.5 figure ranked third-to-last. Carr carries a non-guaranteed contract; he is set to earn $18.9MM in 2020 base salary. That price comes in $1.4MM higher than Dalton’s.
  • Do not expect a reunion between the Vikings and Mike Remmers. Even if the team makes left tackle Riley Reiff a cap casualty and moves right tackle Brian O’Neill to that spot, Chris Tomasson notes the Vikings are not expected to be interested in a low-cost Remmers deal (Twitter link). Remmers was Minnesota’s right tackle starter from 2017-18 and will not return to the Giants next season.
  • The Packers recently added to their coaching staff, with Tom Pelissero of NFL.com tweeting the team hired Butch Barry as a senior assistant. A Wisconsin native, Barry was the Buccaneers’ assistant offensive line coach from 2015-18. He spent the 2019 season as the Miami Hurricanes’ offensive line coach.
  • Additionally, the Packers promoted second-year staffer Jason Vrable from offensive assistant to wide receivers coach, the team announced. Vrable has not coached a position since serving as the Bills’ assistant QBs coach for part of the 2016 season. Otherwise, he’s spent his career as an offensive assistant or a quality control staffer.
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