- The undisclosed 2019 pick that the Lions acquired from the Dolphins in the Akeem Spence trade is a conditional seventh-rounder, tweets ESPN’s Field Yates. Miami originally acquired the selection in the deal that sent Jarvis Landry to the Browns.
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The Lions have traded defensive tackle Akeem Spence to the Dolphins. The Lions will receive an undisclosed 2019 draft pick in return. 
Spence agreed to rework his contract with Detroit on Thursday morning in a move that made little sense at the time. Now, we know that the contract was adjusted in order to facilitate a trade to Miami.
Spence now joins a revamped Dolphins defensive line that no longer includes Ndamukong Suh. With Spence, Jordan Phillips, Davon Godchaux, Vincent Taylor and end/tackle William Hayes in the fold, the Dolphins have a solid group in the middle, albeit one with a lot less name recognition.
Last year, Spence had three sacks while playing on the interior and 39 tackles overall. Spence graded out as the 65th best defensive tackle in the league, per Pro Football Focus, which portrays him as a solid reserve on the interior defensive line.
The Lions may explore other free agent defensive tackles after dealing Spence. After the departure of Haloti Ngata, A’Shawn Robinson stands as the only significant holdover from last season.
The Lions and defensive tackle Akeem Spence have agreed to a reworked contract, according to Field Yates of ESPN.com (on Twitter). Spence’s base salary has been rolled back from $3.15MM to $2.575M, though he can bridge the gap through incentives. The adjustments to the deal will give Detroit $500K in cap space. 
As Mike Rothstein of ESPN.com tweets, this is an unexpected move by the Lions. Spence played well in 2017 and earned playing time bonuses that boosted his 2018 salary in the first place.
Spence joined the Lions last year on a three-year, $10.5MM deal. In his first season in Detroit, Spence appeared in every game and made eleven starts at defensive tackle. He finished out with three sacks and 39 total tackles while the advanced metrics at Pro Football Focus scored it as his best season to date.
Spence projects to serve as the primary backup at defensive tackle behind starters A’Shawn Robinson and Sylvester Williams. For a complete look at the Lions roster, you can view their depth chart on Roster Resource.
The Lions auditioned free agent linebacker Andrew Gachkar on Wednesday, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link).
Gachkar, 29, has become a special-teams only player as NFL career has advanced, and he didn’t play a single defensive snap for the Panthers in 2017. A former seventh-round pick, Gackhar has been in the league since 2011 but has only made 11 starts. He signed with Carolina last October and played in six games for the club, appearing on roughly two-thirds of the Panthers’ special teams plays during that time.
Detroit, for its part, has been willing to pay for special teams play in the past. Under general manager Bob Quinn, the Lions have steadily improved on special teams, and last season ranked fifth in Football Outsiders’ DVOA. Gackhar would surely focus on that area of play if signed, especially given that Detroit added other linebackers such as Devon Kennard, Christian Jones, Cam Johnson, and Jonathan Freeny.
- The Lions apparently disappointed at least a couple of teams in this weekend’s draft. Per Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (via Twitter), Detroit selected Auburn RB Kerryon Johnson one pick before the Redskins were prepared to take him, and the Panthers were going to take UL-Lafayette CB Tracy Walker with the No. 85 overall pick, but the Lions nabbed him with their No. 82 pick.
The Patriots are wheeling and dealing. ESPN’s Mike Reiss reports (via Twitter) that New England is sending pick No. 114 to the Lions. The Patriots acquired that selection earlier today in a deal with the Browns. Detroit will be sending a 2019 third-rounder to New England, according to Reiss (on Twitter).
The Lions have used the pick on defensive lineman Da’Shawn Hand. The Albama product compiled 27 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss, and three sacks during his senior season. He’ll provide head coach (and former Pats defensive coordinator) Matt Patricia some depth on the defensive line.
The Patriots have been might busy this weekend, as they’ve already pulled off six trades. Reiss believes that these moves are an indication that Bill Belichick is planning on sticking around for the foreseeable future (Twitter link).
Former coworkers Bill Belichick and Bob Quinn have made a deal. The Lions have moved into the No. 43 spot, and the Patriots will slide down in the second round, per Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter).
New England will acquire picks 51 and 117, per ESPN.com’s Field Yates (Twitter link). The Pats entered the draft without a fourth-round pick; they now own one.
With the pick, the Lions drafted running back Kerryon Johnson. The Lions have struggled on the ground for a while now, and they’re bringing the Auburn-developed back to attempt to re-route their ground attack.
Johnson will join a backfield corps that includes Ameer Abdullah and LeGarrette Blount. He represents the franchise’s biggest investment at this position since Abdullah came to Detroit via 2015 second-round selection.
Some news on a potential Patriots trade target + more out of New England:
- The Patriots will have to do their medical homework on tackle Trent Brown before pulling off a trade for him with the 49ers. Brown was terribly out of shape at minicamp and San Francisco has reservations about him coming off of shoulder surgery, Tony Pauline of DraftAnalyst.com (on Twitter) hears. The Niners’ concerns over Brown prompted them to select Mike McGlinchey with the No. 9 pick.
- The Patriots had interest in linebacker Rashaan Evans at the No. 23 pick and the Steelers were looking to trade up to get the Alabama product, Cameron Wolfe of ESPN.com tweets. Ultimately, the Titans gave up a fourth-round pick to move up three spots and leapfrog two AFC rivals. Tennessee also received a sixth-round pick in that swap.
- The Patriots also had Frank Ragnow as a top target at No. 23 overall and tried to move up to get him, Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press hears. The Bengals also had the Arkansas center as a top target, but the Lions pounced on the opportunity to take him at No. 20 overall.
Let’s dive into some last-minute draft rumors as we anticipate the start of the first round…
- Should the Ravens go on the clock and Mike McGlinchey is off the board, it looks like they will strongly consider UCLA’s Kolton Miller. Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle tweets the Ravens are focused on Miller as a McGlinchey contingency plan at No. 16. These two are viewed by many as the top tackles in this year’s draft. Although Baltimore needs a right tackle after cutting Austin Howard, this serves as one of the possible Lamar Jackson destinations. Assuming the top four QB prospects are gone by this point in the draft, it could open up the trade market for the picks in the latter teens with the 2016 Heisman winner still available.
- Albert Breer of SI.com writes that there are several teams interested in moving down, including the 49ers (No. 9), Seahawks (No. 18), Lions (No. 20), Titans (No. 25), and Eagles (No. 32). Seattle would have particular interest in trading their pick if safety Derwin James or any of the top pass-rushers are off the board. Meanwhile, Breer notes that San Francisco could benefit if a quarterback-needy team wants to trade up.
- Ben Volin of the Boston Globe tweets that he keeps hearing Miami defensive lineman Chad Thomas being connected to the Patriots. Thomas didn’t earn a spot on NFL.com’s Daniel Jeremiah’s top-50 list, and he’s ultimately projected to be a third- or fourth-round pick. The senior was plenty productive in 2017, compiling 41 total tackles, 12.5 tackles for loss, and 4.5 sacks.
The Browns and Colts have the most cap room of any team in the NFL heading into draft, as Field Yates of ESPN.com (on Twitter) notes. Here’s the official rundown of every team’s cap space for 2018 on the eve of draft weekend:
- Browns – $69.5MM
- Colts – $59.8MM
- 49ers – $43.8MM
- Titans – $35.8MM
- Texans -$35.6MM
- Bears – $24.1MM
- Jets – $21.9MM
- Bills – $19.4MM
- Jaguars – $18.6MM
- Cardinals – $18.1MM
- Redskins -$17.1MM
- Bengals – $16.8MM
- Packers – $16.2MM
- Vikings – $15.5MM
- Broncos – $14.6MM
- Patriots – $13.8MM
- Buccaneers – $12.3MM
- Cowboys -$11.9MM
- Chargers – $11.4MM
- Lions – $9.4MM
- Giants -$9.4MM
- Ravens – $8.8MM
- Seahawks – $7.6MM
- Chiefs – $6.7MM
- Saints – $5.7MM
- Panthers – $5.2MM
- Dolphins – $2.9MM
- Eagles – $2.2MM
- Steelers – $2MM
- Raiders – $1.8MM
- Falcons – $1.3MM
- Rams – $264K