Simple. Cut Peterson and Paddle hands Johnson and you have freed up enough money to get 3 really good FA's.

Billy, I'm kinda figuring that they'll have to cut Peterson and B. Johnson just to get under the cap. Then again, nobody knows what the next CBA or salary cap will look like, so it's just speculation on my part. I'm thinking worst case scenario here.

Peterson didn't play today almost guaranteeing his exit from Detroit. No tears here.

How much does cutting those two save us? I know what Peterson is due, but not Bryant Johnson. Are there any other players due to come off the books in 2011, like Ernie Sims?

bryant johnson has played well the last couple of weeks, im praying that it wasnt good enough to save his job.

I'm glad someone else sees him for what he is

i dont really care about steve smith lol. i just put a list of the top free agents up. i dont think he would hurt us. put him in the #2 spot and move burleson to the slot. that would be 1 nice wr group. with that being said im not hoping, wanting, or even thinking that he is an option for this team. the 3 off that list that i really wanted was the first 3. logan mankins, barrett ruud, and johnathon joseph. those players would make up my wish list.

Hey vank, how do you feel about david hawthorne?

To answer M2K's question, Bryant Johnson is due $3.2M next season and has a cap charge (assuming that the rules remain the same) of $3.6M. Everyone already knows that Peterson will cost $8M. Combined, that's $11.2M in savings if both are released.

Now for the good news. I've done a bit of research over the past few days about the Lion's cap situation and it doesn't appear to be as bad as I feared. I no longer have access to the NFLPA website, so my info isn't as good as it used to be, but I think I'm fairly close with my guesses. What I came up with was 40 players under contract and 5 RFA tenders for a total of $118M. And that is before cutting Peterson and BJ. The last salary cap in 2009 was about $128M and I don't expect the new one to be less than that, so the Lions will have some room to play with.

Thegodjr, David Hawthorne already signed a one year extension with the Seahawks, so he's no longer available.

Man that's rough... There's plenty of free agent lb's out there though, and there is no doubt in my mind mayhew will target one

Not a free agent per-se, but what do you think about Aaron Maybin? Could he be this year's Alphonso Smith? Looks like the Bills are ready to cut him.

The guy is horrible he was a Millenesque pick by the Bills. Maybin is an undersized DE that isn't strong enough to play with his hand in the dirt and lacks the drive and desire to do what it takes to learn a new position (OLB) while with the Bills.

Good to know!

I don't know about you, but I think that Plaxeco Burris will come back to the league with a bit of a chip on his shoulder. I am not a big MSU fan or anything, but I think it would be good for him to come home and be #2 to Calvin. A much better choice than Terrell Owens will be.

I would like to see Champ Bailey come here for 3-5 years and also get Prince in the draft. I think that Matthews kid out of Oregon could be an excellent target in the 2nd round for one of our OLB spots, and maybe the best possible OL in the 3rd.

Go Lions!!!

DisplacedFan, I'd prefer that the Lions not go after guys like Plaxico Burress or Champ Bailey who are on the wrong side of 30.