The Detroit Lions will have some big financial decisions to face this coming offseason, where the team will be trying to rebound from a season where they fell short of hte playoffs.
One analyst believes the team can free up some significant financial resources with the help of quarterback Jared Goff, whose contract allows them to garner an eight-figure savings with an offseason restructure.
Lions Urged to Save $40 Million on Jared Goff
USA Today’s Josh Helmer broke down the potential restructures the Lions could explore this offseason in order to find more cap space. The biggest potential leverage comes from Goff, who has a cap hit of nearly $70 million for the upcoming season.
The Lions could free up a huge chunk of cap by reworking Goff’s contract, Helmer suggested.
“The Lions can morph Goff’s 2026 cap hit all the way down to a $29.3 million cap hit with a restructured contract, where Goff’s $55 million in base salary gets converted into prorated bonuses over the next four years. That would create $40.275 million in cap savings,” Helmer wrote.
With some creative restructuring, the Lions would slash Goff’s base salary, Helmer wrote.
“Under this scenario, the Lions would pay Goff the $1.3 million base minimum salary in accordance with his credited seasons and then a little more than $28 million in signing bonuses,” he noted.
Restructuring Goff’s contract would give the Lions significant room to make other moves, including key decisions on several players who are set to hit free agency. Helmer added that the Lions could save an additional $21.1 million by pulling a similar move with wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown.
“By converting Amon-Ra St. Brown’s $27.5 million of base salary into bonuses over the next five years, the Lions can free up more than $21 million in cap space,” Helmer wrote. “Under this scenario, the Lions would turn St. Brown’s 2026 cap hit into $11.594 million, creating the substantial cap savings.”
Lions Could Use Cap Savings on Defense
After the Lions fell one game short of reaching the playoffs in 2025 — watching their two-year reign over the NFC North going with it — one analyst believes they should focus on shoring up their defense. SI.com’s Christian Booher suggested the team could take a big swing at improving their pass rush.
“There are several high-end defensive free agents in this year’s crop, and the Lions may be inclined to find their complementary piece to Aidan Hutchinson in free agency instead of the draft,” Booher wrote. “Trey Hendrickson is the top free agent available, though his value may have dipped after an up-and-down 2025 season hampered by injury.”
Booher added that the Lions could have some other options, though most would require some of the cap saving moves in order to free up the necessary cash.
“Other EDGE options include Jaelan Phillips and Odafe Oweh, both of whom could be in line for big contracts,” Booher wrote. “If the Lions are able to restructure some contracts and create cap space, it instantly becomes more feasible to upgrade the defense and address some of the gaps in production that hampered them at times throughout the year.”
Lions Urged to Make $40 Million Move on QB Jared Goff