3 Lions cut candidates entering 2025 offseason

The Detroit Lions might have had their best season in franchise history in 2024. That probably sounds like an odd thing to say about a team that failed to get back to the NFC Championship like they did the year before, but it is true. Detroit finished the regular season 15-2, which was three games better than their next best season. The Lions also secured the No. 1 seed in the NFC playoffs, another first in franchise history.

Unfortunately, the Lions were bounced in the first round of the playoffs by the Commanders. Detroit suffered through a ton of defensive injuries and they finally caught up with them in the most important game of the season.

Now the Lions must transition into offseason mode and try to fix what went wrong in 2024. Thankfully, they have plenty of resources to work with.

The Lions enter the offseason with roughly $45 million in cap space to work with. This gives them enough room to add some pieces in free agency. However, the Lions have several players who could use an extension soon (Aidan Hutchinson and Kerby Joseph should be the main priorities) and need to save some space for those contracts.

Detroit also has seven picks in the 2025 NFL Draft, including the 28th overall pick.

That is a great start, but the Lions could use more cap space to extend players and bring in young talent. As a result, Detroit may have to make some tough decisions on a few aging players.

Below we will explore the three Lions players who could easily become cut candidates during the 2025 NFL offseason.

Lions can easily find a suitable replacement for Jalen Reeves-Maybin

This one would hurt, because Dan Campbell and the Lions really love Jalen Reeves-Maybin.

Reeves-Maybin was a fourth-round draft pick in the 2017 NFL Draft. He survived the entire Bob Quinn era in Detroit and played one season under Campbell. Reeves-Maybin left during free agency for Houston, but ended up returning to Detroit the following offseason.

His claim to fame is his tenacious play on special teams. Reeves-Maybin can play linebacker in a pinch, but it is not his biggest strength. He is 30 years old and about to enter his ninth season in the NFL.

Reeves-Maybin is easily replaceable as a primarily special teams player who is getting long in the tooth. The Lions may look to move on from Reeves-Maybin to get some cap space back before free agency.

If the Lions cut Reeves-Maybin before June 1st, they will save $1.9 million in cap space. They will also take on some dead money, but none of it carries over into the 2026 season.

Detroit could easily replace Reeves-Maybin with a cheaper player who they acquire during the draft or as a walk-on during training camp.

The Lions simply need the cap space more than they need Jalen Reeves-Maybin.

Is it finally the end of the road for Graham Glasgow in Detroit?

Glasgow is another Lions player who began his career in Detroit, left, and came back under coach Campbell.

The Lions signed Glasgow to a three-year, $20 million contract during free agency last spring. Glasgow followed that up by starting for the Lions at left guard and not having a great season.

Realistically, Glasgow's best years are behind him at this point in his career. Glasgow will be 33 years old during the 2025 season and could be replaced. This is especially true thanks to the late-season emergence of rookie Christian Mahogany as a viable starter.

There is an argument for keeping Glasgow as, at worst, a high-level backup who has positional versatility.

That said, if the Lions find themselves in need of an extra $2 million in cap space, Glasgow could be shown the door.

Za'Darius Smith's contract makes him the most likely player on this list to be cut

Lions fans may be surprised to see that Smith is the most likely player on this list to be cut.

Detroit traded for Za'Darius Smith at the trade deadline during the 2024 season. Smith added some necessary reinforcements to the team's defensive line after losing Aidan Hutchinson for the season.

Smith rewarded the Lions with four sacks and several pressures during the final half of the 2024 season. It was likely enough to get fans curious about how dangerous he could be next to Hutchinson.

The structure of Smith's contract from Cleveland could make him a cut candidate. The Browns added a void year to Smith's contract to help spread out his signing bonus. While that means Detroit is off the hook for paying that bonus, it is still on the books as a cap hit.

If the Lions cut Smith before June 1st, they will save $5.7 million in cap space with no dead money. They will also save $5.2 million in 2026.

If Smith does stay in Detroit, it will likely be on a restructured contract.