The Detroit Lions haven't changed a whole lot this offseason.
They have a new CB1 and some of their bench options are new. They'll have a new starting right guard in 2025. Their rookie class should also change things up a bit.
However, their rotations on both sides of the ball should look very familiar next season.
Bleacher Report's Kristopher Knox believes there is one move they could make that would see them move on from a player who was the top option at one of his positions in 2024.
In a recent article identifying the most talented player from each NFL team who could still be cut, Knox named wide receiver/punt returner Kalif Raymond as the player the Lions could move on from.
Raymond was a player who stood out as a potential cut candidate from the start of the offseason despite earning All-Pro honors in two of the last three seasons.
He just seemed like he was too expensive for a player who makes almost all of his contributions come on punt returns.
He was expected to carry a cap hit of $6.38 million for the 2025 season after making just 17 catches for 215 yards last season.
His numbers were better as a punt returner, with 413 yards and a touchdown, but a large chunk of that yardage and the touchdown came against the Titan's heinous special teams in a game where the Lions would have cruised anyway.
Despite that, the Lions decided to renegotiate with him this offseason. He took a $900 thousand pay cut, but will actually cost the team $6.95 million in cap space for the 2025 season.
That move seemed to make it pretty clear the Lions want him back for another season.
The Lions can now only save around $2 million in cap space by cutting Raymond compared to the $3.28 million they could have saved before the restructure.
It still feels like Raymond's contributions don't quite line up with the cap hit, but it would be surprising to see the Lions move on from him at this point.
