The Detroit Lions were dealt a devastating blow when center Frank Ragnow revealed he is retiring from the NFL, but the decision could have one silver lining for Detroit, and it has to do with veteran edge rusher Za'Darius Smith.
Smith was cut earlier this offseason, with general manager Brad Holmes admitting the team couldn't afford the $11 million or so he was set to make.
"It was an amicable decision," Holmes said back in March. "We couldn't afford it is the bottom line... That was my communication with him and he understood that."
The reason was a bit strange at the time, as the Lions had (and still have) ample cap space to afford Smith for one more season.
Putting that aside for now, the Lions have even more cap space to work with in the wake of Ragnow's retirement. According to Mike Payton of AtoZ Sports, Ragnow hanging up his cleats will save Detroit $9.5 million in 2025.
With that number added to Over the Cap's $40.1 million salary cap space number for the Lions, the team now has about $49.6 million to work with.
Again, Smith was set to make around $11 million before his release, so the money saved from Ragnow almost covers that entirely, save for a million or so.
The Lions would be wise to take that savings and give it to Smith, as the team has a dire need along the edge opposite Aidan Hutchinson, who is coming back from a significant injury.
As things stand now, the team is depending on injury-prone Marcus Davenport and a rookie in Ahmed Hassanein to pick up the slack. That simply isn't good enough for a Lions team that has Super Bowl hopes in 2025.
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