Wide receiver Kalif Raymond is joining back up with Ben Johnson.
Ian Rapoport of NFL Media reports that Raymond has agreed to a one-year deal with the Bears. Raymond played for Johnson when the Bears head coach was the offensive coordinator in Detroit. Bears wide receivers coach Antwan Randle-El also held the same job in Detroit before joining Johnson in making the jump to Chicago last year.
Raymond bounced around the league before joining the Lions in 2021 and spending the last five seasons with the team. He had 171 catches for 2,185 yards and seven touchdowns during that run.
The Lions also used Raymond as a returner and he had three punt return touchdowns as a member of the team.
Linebacker Alex Anzalone was one of the players to land a job with a new team after the free agent negotiating window opened on Monday.
Anzalone agreed to sign a two-year deal with the Buccaneers after spending the last five seasons with the Lions. In a farewell message posted to Instagram, Anzalone suggested that his first choice wasn’t to move on from Detroit.
“The business side of football doesn’t always line up with exactly how things should go,” Anzalone wrote. “Contracts end, decisions are made and sometimes paths diverge. It’s bittersweet, no doubt. I leave with nothing but appreciation.”
Running back David Montgomery, left tackle Taylor Decker, defensive lineman Roy Lopez, quarterback Kyle Allen, and cornerback Amik Robertson are other Lions set to move on to other teams for the 2026 season. All of the moves signal a bigger shift away from the Lions team that made a run to the NFC Championship Game after the 2023 season and the success of the revamped roster in 2026 will determine whether even more sweeping changes are in store in Detroit.
Quarterback Kyle Allen is signing a two-year, $4.1 million deal with the Bills, Adam Schefter of ESPN reports. Allen has another $2 million in incentives in the contract.
Allen will reunite with his close friend, Josh Allen, after spending the 2023 season as Josh Allen’s backup in Buffalo.
Kyle Allen, 30, was Jared Goff’s backup with the Lions last season. He appeared in only three games and threw only two passes.
He has not started a game since 2022 with the Texans but has appeared in 34 games, with 19 starts, in his career.
Allen has also spent time in Carolina, Washington and Pittsburgh in addition to his stops in Buffalo, Houston and Detroit.
In his career, he has completed 62.5 percent of his passes for 4,753 yards with 26 touchdowns and 21 interceptions.
Defensive lineman Roy Lopez is heading back to Arizona.
NFL Media reports that Lopez has agreed to sign with the Cardinals as a free agent. It is a two-year, $11.5 million deal with $7 million in guaranteed money.
Lopez played for the Cardinals in 2023 and 2024 before signing with the Lions last year. Nick Rallis was the Arizona defensive coordinator in those seasons and he remained with the team through the head coaching change that saw Mike LaFleur replace Jonathan Gannon.
Lopez had 30 tackles and two sacks in 17 games for the Lions last season. He had 70 tackles, a sack, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery during his first stint with the Cardinals.
When the Lions recently released veteran left tackle Taylor Decker, the natural conclusion was that right tackle Penei Sewell would move from the right side to the left side. One of Monday’s deals seems to confirm it.
As noted by Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press, the signing of former Dolphins tackle Larry Borom points to Borom becoming the new right tackle, with Sewell flipping to left tackle.
Borom started 11 games at right tackle for the Dolphins in 2025.
Birkett projects the starting offensive line to feature Sewell at left tackle, Christian Mahogany at left guard, Cade Mays at center, Tate Ratledge at right guard, and Larry Borom at right tackle.
Sewell, the seventh overall pick in the 2021 draft, is signed through 2029. He has an average salary of $28 million per year.
