Detroit Lions: 5 Returning Players With Roster Spots in Doubt
By Zac Snyder
1. Brandon Pettigrew
The current collective bargaining agreement allows for unused cap space to be carried over from year-to-year so it doesn’t make sense to carry a player whose cap number far exceeds his role. That’s the case for Pettigrew who no longer finds himself a target in the passing game and his 2016 cap charge of $4.65 million is the team’s ninth-highest. Cutting Pettigrew would leave $2 million in dead money on the cap books this season but would free $2.65 million to be used in the future.
It’s a contract handed out by a previous regime to a player who was drafted by that previous regime and even then the deal was viewed at the time as a two-year deal then “we’ll see.”
Pettigrew is just a blocking tight end at this point in his career and he might already have been cut along with other veterans earlier in the offseason if not for the ACL injury he suffered late last season. At this point he should be expected to stick around as insurance while he heals but that cap number serves as a big hurdle to clear for him to keep his roster spot.
I’ve trumpeted Cole Wick as the undrafted free agent most likely to make the roster because of the situation at tight end and like Muhlbach with Landes, the incumbent will likely have to far outperform the newcomer to stick past training camp.
Next: Ranking Lions Draft Class by Rookie-Year Impact
What do you think? Any names here you don’t see as in trouble of a roster spot, or names you’d add to this list? Let me know in the comments section below or on facebook or twitter.