Brock Wright leads a group of five exclusive free agents tendered by the Detroit Lions.
On Monday, the Detroit Lions announced they have advertised five of their exclusive 2023 free agents.
An exclusive rights free agent is a player who has been in the NFL for less than three years and has an expiring contract. Since ERFAs are not veterans, teams retain their contractual rights and have the option to offer them a one-year contract, usually for the league’s minimum amount.
Unfortunately for players, once advertised, they have few options in front of them. First, they can sign their advertised contract and be back on an NFL roster, which is the option almost everyone chooses. Second, if they don’t want to sign their offer, they can ask for their release, which the team may or may not agree to. Finally, if the player refuses to sign and the team refuses to withdraw the tender, the player would be forced to sit out the upcoming season – which is why most have opted for the first option.
Simply put, expect all of the players listed below to sign their tender and become part of the Lions’ 90-man offseason roster.
TE Brock Wright – After the team traded away TJ Hockenson, Wright took over front tight end duties for the remainder of the season. Wright played well in the new role — including a game-winning touchdown against the Jets — but will likely face competition for the starting role in 2023.
TE Shane Zylstra – Zylstra stepped into the Lions’ TE3 role after the Hockenson trade, eventually sharing time with rookie James Mitchell as the rotating TE2. The highlight of Zylstra’s season was a three-touchdown performance against the Panthers in Week 16. He will be in contention for a roster spot in 2023.
NT Benito Jones – Claimed on cuts, Jones saw his role grow as the season progressed and ended up getting regular rotation snaps and contributing weekly. Jones primarily filled the reserve nose tackle role last season, and his upcoming role could be determined by the other defenders who have acquired this offseason.
LB Anthony Pittman – We first learned of Pittman’s offer through the Free Press’s Dave Birkett on Wednesday, which was an expected move considering Pittman’s worth, especially with specialty teams. In 2021, Pittman saw over 400 special team snaps for Detroit (which led the team) and in 2022 he was just one behind the team lead with 358 special team snaps. Pittman’s contributions should put him in a good position for 2023, but he may need to show more on defense.
LS Scott Daly – After taking charge of Lions legend Don Muhlbach in 2021, Daly has been the team’s main long snapper for the past two seasons. Last year Daly had no competition for his role in training camp and it is unclear if he will face a challenger in this training camp or if he will continue to play unchallenged.
Remarkable:
The Lions had two other ERFA options that were undisclosed with this group: running back Craig Reynolds and IOL Tommy Kraemer.
The Lions announced that Reynolds has been re-signed, but it’s not clear if he simply signed his offer or received an entirely new contract. In any case, he’s back in the squad.
As for Kraemer, he had a back injury that cost him all of last season and it’s possible that an injury is preventing him from being called out, or it’s also possible that the team decided to continue. There is currently no clarity on this situation.
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