The Lions have added a good deal of cap space by restructuring the contract of their new quarterback.
Field Yates of ESPN reports that the Lions have converted $20 million of Jared Goff’s base salary into a signing bonus. The move opens up $15 million of cap space for the rest of the offseason.
Goff’s contract runs through 2024 and the cap charges for the next three years will increase by $5 million as a result of the conversion.
That would leave around $30 million in dead money on the cap if the team wanted to move on without Goff next year, so it would seem that the move will extend his time in Detroit through at least the 2022 season. Opinions on whether or not that’s a good thing will be shaped by how Goff does once he’s on the field later this year.
