Today was the deadline for the Lions to decide whether to match Tampa Bay’s offer sheet to restricted free agent defensive end George Johnson.
But this one’s going to take a bit longer to settle.
According to Tim Twentyman of the team’s official website, the Lions are disputing the offer sheet, throwing Johnson’s future into limbo.
The league will appoint an impartial arbitrator to identify the terms that would have to be matched and rule within 10 days. The Lions would then have two days to match or not. Because he was tendered at the lowest level and entered the league as an undrafted rookie, the Lions would get no compensation if he leaves.
The Bucs signed Johnson to a three-year, $9 million deal, allowing the journeyman to cash in on his 6.0-sack season.
It’s unclear which portion of the deal the Lions are disputing, but it’s a curious wrinkle in a process which is normally cut-and-dried.
