Discussion: What Was The Detroit Lions’ Worst Value Signing In Free Agency?

On Sunday, we discussed the Detroit Lions’ best value signings in free agency. With most contract details out now, there were a lot of bargain bin buys from general manager Brad Holmes, leading to a pretty big list of potential good value plays by the Lions.

However, not every Lions signing is going to work out. That’s just the nature of football. Whether it’s schematic fit, injury, or just a player who fails to reach their full potential, the Lions are going to overpay for someone. It happens every year.

So today’s Question of the Day is:

Which Lions free agent signing has the worst value?

My answer: This is a bit of a tough question, because the Lions didn’t really hand out any super expensive deals. The biggest criticism the Lions have gotten this offseason is that they didn’t shell out any big deals for big talents.

Because there are so many low-risk deals, there are only a couple of contracts that I believe could be looked back on as reckless spending:

• Cade Mays’ three-year, $25 million contract
• Larry Borom’s one-year, $5 million deal

As Erik Schlitt pointed out in the Borom article linked above, $5 million a year is about the going rate for a high-end OT3. I have questions whether you could call Borom a good OT3, but it feels nitpicky to complain too much about this. I understand seeing Rasheed Walker’s incredible $4 million deal (worth up to $10 million) and thinking that’s a much better use of cap space, but that contract feels like an outlier. It feels like something else is going on there, considering how much his projected worth was off.

If I had to pick one of the two, I think Mays’ deal is the bigger risk. His deal is basically a two-year, $16 million contract with a third-year team option. At $8 million per year, Mays’ contract ranks ninth among centers. Is Mays a top-10 center in the league? No, of course not. And the Lions aren’t paying him that much because they think he is. They’re paying him that much because it always costs a little more in free agency, and contract terms are constantly on the rise with a growing salary cap.

Still, paying $8 million a year and $14 million guaranteed to a player who is still relatively new to the center position, hasn’t ever entered an NFL season as a starter, and has some serious limitations in the run game is a pretty big risk. Detroit likely also paid a little more because they were a little desperate to fill the center position with limited free agent options on the table.

I understand why the Lions made both of these moves—fixing the offensive line was a high priority this offseason—but if there are any deals that could seriously backfire this offseason, it’s probably these two.

Which Lions free agency contracts are you most concerned about? Share your thoughts in the comment section.