The Detroit Lions have not yet made any big moves in free agency aside for the Carlton Davis trade. Lions fans were hoping that the team would do something big to help the defensive line and they may very well be on the verge of that with Bengals defensive lineman D.J. Reader visiting the Lions on Thursday. 

Reader is not the only guy they have interest in. The Lions are also interested in signing former 49ers defensive lineman Arik Armstead after the 49ers released him Wednesday. That same day I put out this tweet that share my thoughts on the situation. 

I think it’s very realistic that the Lions could swing both Reader and Armstead

— Mike Payton (@AtoZ_Payton) March 13, 2024

This got a response for sure. One of the more duplicated responses was that the Lions wouldn't do this because of the money or that they can't do this and also work out the extensions they're planning to do. 

Here's the thing, I think they could do both and still have room to do a couple other things and then do the extensions. Both Reader and Armstead are not going to command the type of deals that some of the other high end defensive linemen have commanded this offseason. I'm sure they may want to get paid that much, but they won't. 

For Reader, Our on staff cap analysts projected that he would get a three year deal worth $34.5 million that would pay him $11.5 million a year. While Reader was very good last year and has been very good, he's coming off a torn quad and he'll be 30-years-old when the season starts. That's going to affect what he can get. There's a chance he might even get a shorter term deal than this. Something like two years for $28 million. 

As for Armstead, he signed a five year deal worth $85 million in 2020. He was 27-years old at the time. Now at 30-years-old, the 49ers just parted ways with him because they didn't want to pay him $17.4 million in 2024. 

Armstead will get a nice deal, but he's not going to get $17.4 million anywhere. I think the realistic deal that he could get is similar to the one that the Colts just worked out with Grover Stewart. A three year deal worth $39 million that would pay Armstead $14 million a year. 

These are two deals the Lions can afford to do simultaneously. They'd have $73 million tied up between the two of them for three years. Consider that Danielle Hunter, Brian Burns and Christian Wilkins just got significantly more by themselves. If Armstead and Reader were one player, they'd be the 17th highest paid defensive linemen in the NFL.  This is something the Lions could definitely do while also being conservative about spending.

As for the other comments I got about Armstead and Reader playing the same position, that's not totally accurate. They do both play on the interior, but Armstead has spent most of his career playing defensive end and while he did move inside recently, he's still played plenty outside each year since the move. The Lions could plant Reader on the inside and have Armstead opposite Hutchinson. Then they rotate or the Lions could move Armstead inside in case of injury. 

We'll see what happens with this, but it's doable. The first domino could fall as early as Thursday. D.J. Reader is in Detroit as I type this. 

Update: One domino is down here. Reader has signed with the Lions and he will get just a little less than the suggested $28 million over two years that we laide out.  

Update: Armstead has signed with the Jaguars. The dream is dead. 

The Lions were wise to not spend big on a pass rusher in free agency

NFL free agency has not officially began yet. It doesn't start until Wednesday at 4:00 PM. Even with that in mind, all the high end pass rushers and defensive linemen that were in this draft have been spoken for. They all agreed to new deals by Tuesday evening. Some stayed where they were at and […]