Guard Graham Glasgow Puts Lions on Notice Ahead of NFL Free Agency

Finishing just shy of the team’s first Super Bowl, the Detroit Lions likely want to bring the band back together as much as possible in 2024. Offensive lineman Graham Glasgow would prefer to be back in Detroit. But Glasgow also made it clear that’d he’d like a bigger pay day next season too.

“I would love to be back,” Glasgow said, via The Detroit News’ Justin Rogers. “I think I had a really good year, probably top one or two of my career.

“I would like to make more money than I did this year and I would assume the guys upstairs know and understand that. I feel like stuff like this kind of works. Hopefully, we’ll be able to work through it.”

The Lions brought back their 2016 third-round pick on a 1-year deal to be a reserve interior offensive lineman in 2023.

But Glasgow ended up starting 15 games. He played 75 snaps at all three interior offensive line spots, with a vast majority of his playing time occurring at right guard.

Graham Glasgow Says Detroit Lions Want Him Back

While Glasgow made his intentions of a bigger pay day clear, the Lions laid all their cards on the table as well.

The veteran offensive lineman told Rogers that the team expressed a desire to bring him back on another contract.

“Yeah, they said, ‘We’d like to have you back and we appreciate what you did this year,'” Glasgow said about his exit interview. “That’s cool. I appreciate that. But they even said it, ‘From here on out, it will just be us talking with your agent and seeing what we can do.'”

Glasgow had a base salary of $1.5 million in 2023. His 1-year contract also contained a $930,000 signing bonus and $250,000 roster bonus.

Pro Football Focus projects the 31-year-old to receive a significant pay increase for 2024. PFF predicted his next contract to be worth a total of $13 million, including $6.5 million guaranteed.

Based on how he played, Glasgow deserves the pay increase. He was part of a Detroit offensive line that was one of the best in the NFL during 2023.

PFF ranked Glasgow 10th-best among all guards with a player grade of 74.9 out of 100.

The Lions drafted Glasgow at No. 95 overall in the third round of the 2016 NFL draft. After four years with the team, he signed a $44 million contract to join the Denver Broncos.

Following three seasons in Denver, Glasgow returned to Detroit on a small salary in order to have familiar surroundings.

“To play with Taylor [Decker], to play with Frank [Ragnow], it just came down to I wanted to be a part of that O-line room,” Glasgow told Rogers. “I wanted to be back with my buddies. And I wanted to be a part of this team.”

Questions on Lions Offensive Line Heading into 2024

In addition to Glasgow, left guard Jonah Jackson is a pending free agent.

Jackson turns just 27 in February while Graham will be 32 in July. Jackson is likely the preferred guard to keep. However, Jackson will also be more expensive.

The Lions possess $61 million in cap space as of February 1, which is ranked seventh-most in the NFL according to Spotrac. But the team has several of its own players to sign to extensions, including quarterback Jared Goff.

On the offensive line, the Lions will very likely pick up tackle Penei Sewell’s fifth-year option. But in a perfect world, the team will also sign him to a long-term extension.

If the Lions sign Jackson, then they may elect to find a cheaper option at right guard instead of Glasgow. But if Jackson’s asking price becomes too high, then the Lions could pay Glasgow to avoid losing two starting interior offensive linemen.