Less than five hours into tampering period, Lions spent big on four free agents
There’s usually one team each offseason with its checkbooks out, ready to dump fortunes on as many free agents as possible.
This year, the Detroit Lions were working at a feverish rate.
By 4:30 p.m. on Monday, the Lions already had four free agents locked up. The so-called legal tampering period started at noon. The first addition, receiver Danny Amendola, was free to sign right away because the Miami Dolphins cut him last week. Then three unrestricted free agents agreed to deals with the Lions: cornerback Justin Coleman, defensive end Trey Flowers and tight end Jesse James.
Their spending spree wasn’t cheap.
Lions are the splashiest team early in free agency
Amendola signed a one-year, $4.5 million deal, which isn’t a bargain for a 34-year-old coming off a 575-yard season. Coleman, a nickel corner with 13 career starts, got $36 million over four years. Flowers’ deal was for five years at about $16-17 million per season, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network. And James was considered one of the two or three best tight ends available in a weak free-agent field at the position; while contract details weren’t immediately reported, James was expected to get a nice deal given the lack of quality tight ends on the market.
The Lions finished 6-10, last place in the NFC North. It’s hard to know what to make of their spending spree. Do they feel they’re closer to contention than last year’s record would indicate? Are head coach Matt Patricia, in just his second year, and general manager Bob Quinn feeling some heat? Is ownership just sick of losing and getting impatient?
Whatever it is, it’s a heck of a statement in the first few hours teams could contact free agents.
Lions got some upgrades
The players the Lions got should help. Amendola wasn’t a great receiver in his prime and seemed near the end last season, but he can fill a role. Nickel cornerbacks are quickly gaining in value, and the Lions needed cornerback depth. Flowers was considered one of the top available free agents for a reason. James is not a prolific receiving tight end, but a good blocker and can contribute as a receiver.
They’re all upgrades over what the Lions had. They’re also quite expensive. This isn’t like the Los Angeles Rams knowing they had a championship window and loading up last offseason. The Lions aren’t close to a championship. They might not be all that close to an NFC North championship. But they’re spending big.
If it doesn’t work out, ownership is going to have a lot of questions about why the multi-millions they spent early in free agency didn’t pay off with more wins.
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Frank Schwab is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at shutdown.corner@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @YahooSchwab
