2 Lions everyone thought were gone look like they could now be staying in Detroit

Levi Onwuzurike and Josh Paschal look to be staying.

Mike Payton — Detroit Lions Beat Writer
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The NFL’s collective bargaining agreement and cap situation continues to be a weird thing to figure out. Sometimes you notice little things in it that you didn’t notice before, and it can lead to some potentially big changes.

Pride of Detroit’s Jeremy Reisman uncovered some cap quirks that could keep two Lions from what everyone thought was done here, in Detroit.

Rare cap rule could keep edge rushers Levi Onwuzurike and Josh Paschal with the Lions in 2026

So here’s how it works. The Lions signed Onwuzurike to a new one-year deal just before free agency in March and then announced before the season started that he would be out for the year with an ACL injury.

Because of Article 20, Section 2 of the CBA, which states that if a player is put on the physically unable to perform list and they don’t come off of it past Week 6, their contract essentially gets pushed back a year.

Article 20, Section 2 of the CBA

  • “Any player placed on a Physically Unable to Perform list (“PUP”) will be paid his full Paragraph 5 Salary while on such list. His contract will not be tolled for the period he is on PUP, except in the last year of his contract, when the player’s contract will be tolled if (i) he is still physically unable to perform his football services as of the sixth regular season game; and (ii) he is not reinstated to the Club’s Active/Inactive List during that regular season or postseason. For the avoidance of doubt, if the player returns to practice, but is never reinstated to the Club’s Active/Inactive List during that regular season or postseason, his contract will toll.”

So, Onwuzurike is still under contract in 2026 for just $1.5 million, which is a small amount. Pascal qualified for the same thing because he started off training camp on the NFI list. It’s a different rule, but it’s from the same exact article.

Article 20, Section 3 of the CBA

  • “A player on N-F/I who is in the final year of his contract (including an option year) will have his contract tolled. However, if the player is physically able to perform his football services on or before the sixth regular season game, the Club must pay the player his negotiated Paragraph 5 Salary (pro rata) for the balance of the season in order to toll such player’s contract. If such player is taken off N-F/I during the period when such action is allowed by League rules, his contract will not be tolled.”

Now, it’s important to look at things this way. Just because these guys are under contract in 2026 does not mean the Lions will keep them. It also does not mean the Lions will not go out and find more edge-rusher help. If you’re crashing out over this, you’re overreacting.

It could mean both players get one more chance to show what they have at training camp this summer. If they can be healthy and show they can contribute, maybe they get a roster spot. The Lions might as well do it this way, since neither player is going to cost much.

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