NFL sets 2018 salary cap at $177.2 million
By Ash Thompson
The NFL Salary Cap has been set at 177.2 million. The Detroit Lions are left with $26.7 million in cap space going into the start of free agency.
The NFL has informed teams that the salary cap will be $177.2 million for the 2018 season. In 2017 the salary cap was $168 million. This number is slightly lower than the expected salary cap for the season. This leaves the Detroit Lions with approximately $26.7 million in salary cap space going into the free agency period according to spotrac.
The Lions rookie salary pool is estimated to leave the team effectively with $22.2 million to improve the team and leave enough room to sign free agents. The Lions still have a number of veteran players from the 2017 roster who have yet to be re-signed. Tahir Whitehead, Haloti Ngata, and Nevin Lawson are pending free agents. They are still waiting to find out whether they will receive an acceptable offer from the Lions. If they do not, they hit the open market next week.
If the Lions were looking to free up additional salary cap space, veterans such as Cornelius Washington ($2,721,875 saved if cut), Eric Ebron ($8.25 million saves if cut before the league year begins next week), or Akeem Spence ($2.75 million saved). It is unlikely, however, that the Lions would decide to move on from players they signed just last year without giving head coach Matt Patricia an opportunity to work with them.
Earlier in the off-season the Lions franchise tagged veteran defensive end Ziggy Ansah. That sucked up an additional $17.143 million in salary cap space. Signing Ansah, or wide receiver Golden Tate, to an extension could also free up fome salary cap space for the team.
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The Detroit Lions are not in a position where they are desperate for salary cap space. There are options though if they find they need just a little bit more. Free agency opens March 12 with the negotiation period, and the Lions have many holes they will look to fill. Their somewhat limited cap space may leave them hunting for second- and third-tier free agents. They will likely look to add depth while general manager Bob Quinn builds his roster through the draft in April.