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Detroit Lions free agency: Trey Burton expected to sign with Bears

By Zac Snyder

Troy Hill #32 of the Los Angeles Rams tackles Trey Burton #88 of the Philadelphia Eagles during the second quarter of the game at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on December 10, 2017 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Jeff Gross/Getty Images)
Troy Hill #32 of the Los Angeles Rams tackles Trey Burton #88 of the Philadelphia Eagles during the second quarter of the game at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on December 10, 2017 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Jeff Gross/Getty Images) /
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A day after reported interest in Trey Burton, the Detroit Lions’ target in free agency is expected to sign with a division rival.

Detroit Lions-related news was rather slow on the first day of the NFL’s negotiating window ahead of free agency but one name to pop up was tight end Trey Burton.

Mike Garafolo reported yesterday that the market for Burton would be robust but the Lions were the only team he mentioned specifically. If that was an indication they were the leaders, it was short lived. Garafolo broke new news related to Burton today, tweeting that the former Philadelphia Eagles tight end will be joining the Chicago Bears.

Ian Rapoport adds that it is a four-year deal worth $32 million. At $8 million per year, Burton’s new deal doesn’t have him in the very top tier of the tight end pay scale but it’s on the doorstep.

Zach Ertz, who Burton backed up in Philadelphia, is at $8.5 million while Rob Gronkowski, Jordan Reed and Travis Kelce are $9+ million. Jimmy Graham‘s expiring deal averaged $10 million per year and his new deal will likely keep him at or among the top of his position.

If the Lions were looking to replace Eric Ebron with Burton they’ll have to move on to plan B. Replacing Ebron is also looking more and more expensive considering Burton just got a deal averaging $8 million per season. Ebron’s fifth-year option at $8.25 million is clearly market rate or better for the Lions, increasing the likelihood that they would hold on to him for the 2018 season rather than selling low in a trade.

With a tweet of just single emoji Ebron made it clear he sees what is going on.

https://twitter.com/Ebron85/status/973583512409460736

It doesn’t appear Ebron is in the team’s long-term plans but the way the tight end market is going 2018 may not be his final season in Detroit. Perhaps the team would entertain using the franchise tag to keep him for 2019 without having to commit to a long-term deal.

Next: Lions re-sign Tavon Wilson to two-year deal

The Lions may have hoped to see Burton 16 times a year in the Honolulu blue and silver. They’ll still see him twice per year but it will be as a Chicago Bear.

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