The Detroit Lions just made two significant financial decisions that have created an opportunity for the team to make a trade and address its biggest roster weakness — an injury-depleted secondary.
Detroit now has $38.2 million in available salary cap space for the 2026 campaign, which opens on Sunday, September 13 at Ford Field where the Lions will host the visiting New Orleans Saints.
“Lions restructured the contracts of WR Amon-Ra St. Brown and LT Penei Sewell and created over $30 million in salary cap space, as @Spotrac reported,” ESPN’s Adam Schefter posted to X on September 12.
Detroit was already a strong candidate to potentially deal for a defensive back ahead of the NFL’s midseason deadline on November 10, and the money the team opened up on Saturday makes that outcome all the more viable.
One player who could be a target is Cleveland Browns star cornerback Denzel Ward, a five-time Pro Bowler who has earned those honors in each of the past three seasons as well as in four of the last five years.
NFL Insider Named Denzel Ward as Strong Trade Match for Lions
ESPN’s Mina Kimes floated the Lions as a likely trade candidate during the September 8 edition of her podcast “The Mina Kimes Show featuring Lenny.”
“I could see them being first place in the division [mid-season], the offense is great, Drew Petzing has worked out, but they realize the defense isn’t actually good enough,” Kimes said. “But they know they need another pass-rusher, another DB. And also they know that this might be their shot. The NFC North is like weird and wide open.”
Kimes then named Ward specifically as a viable target for Detroit.
“Trade for Denzel Ward maybe?” she added. “Denzel Ward makes sense in that defense — good fit.”
Denzel Ward Has Elite Skill Set That Fits Lions’ Defense
Ward recently inked a two-year extension with Cleveland worth a total of $62.2 million. That deal, tacked on to the back end of the five-year agreement worth $100.5 million that Ward inked in April of 2022, will keep him under contract with the franchise through the 2029 campaign.
While Ward does have a history of concussion issues across his eight-year professional career, he has never played in fewer than 12 games in a season and has missed just three contests total over the past two years combined.
The 29-year-old defensive back has started 107 of 110 regular season contests in which he has appeared during his NFL tenure, tallying 104 pass breakups, 18 interceptions, four forced fumbles and four defensive touchdowns.
Ward is a true lockdown cover cornerback on the outside who can play the type of man coverage defense that the Lions have traditionally favored during head coach Dan Campbell’s era.
Adding a player with Ward’s skill set is all the more important given that star safeties Brian Branch and Kerby Joseph will both begin the season on the injured reserve list (IR), which means each player will miss at least the first four games of the campaign.
Lions’ Cap Moves Fuel Trade Speculation Around 5-Time Pro Bowl CB