Photo by Nic Antaya/Getty Images Breaking down how the Detroit Lions are utilizing their cap space for their 2025 offensive players. With free agency nearing its close, it’s time to take inventory on the Detroit Lions and how they have constructed their 2025 roster. One wa y to do that is to look at the depth chart and players currently under contract. Erik Schlitt has you covered with our 2025 contract tracker here. Another way to do that is to look at how the Lions are spending their capped resources. So in this two-part series, I’m going to use Over The Cap’s positional spending by team page to see how the Lions are investing their cap space compared to other NFL franchises. Today, we start with the offense. Offense: $148,673,455 — 7th in NFL Unsurprisingly, the Lions are spending a ton on their offense relative to the rest of the NFL. When you have a franchise quarterback in place, several Pro Bowl offensive weapons, and a top-five offensive line, you’re going to be spending a lot of money. It has paid off thus far, as Detroit has sported top-five scoring offenses in three straight years, and in all but one year (2024) they ranked top seven in spending on offense. Quarterbacks: $35.3 million — 13th Jared Goff comes at a relative discount this year, with a cap hit of $32.6 million, good for 12th in the NFL. The Lions are also saving money by not investing much money in backups. Hendon Hooker and Kyle Allen are taking up a total of about $2.8 million in cap space. Next year, however, is a different story. Goff’s 2026 cap hit of $69.9 million is fifth-highest in the NFL. That said, his contract will almost certainly be restructured next year, and his cap hit could drop by nearly $40 million. Running backs: $14.2 million — 6th Contract not in yet: Craig Reynolds Both David Montgomery ($8.3M) and Jahmyr Gibbs ($4.9M) rank in the top 25 in running back cap hit for 2025. And things will only get more expensive next year. While Montgomery’s cap hit will remain about the same ($8.4M), Gibbs will jump to $5.7 million. As of right now, the Lions are set to spend the fourth-most on running backs next year, and while an extension of Gibbs could change the numbers a bit, there’s not much room to lower his 2025 cap hit. It’s more likely it’ll increase with an extension. Wide receivers: $31.5 million — 10th Amon-Ra St. Brown is doing some of the lifting here, but not as much as you’d think. His $13.9 million cap hit is only 16th highest among receivers this year. What likely pushes the Lions into the top 10 is that they’re essentially paying two receivers WR2 money: Kalif Raymond ($6.4M cap hit) and Jameson Williams ($5.6M). Despite St. Brown’s cap hit ballooning to $33.1 million next year (fifth), the Lions are in line to spend the 10th most on the position again in 2026. However, they’ll have to replace Raymond, potentially pay out a fifth-year option on Williams ($15.5M), and find a WR-X. That said, St. Brown’s contract is another one with a high likelihood of getting restructured next year. Tight ends: $5.2 million — 31st Contract not in yet: Shane Zylstra Remember when the Lions opted to trade T.J. Hockenson rather than paying him? That turned out to be the best cost-saving move of the Brad Holmes era. Hockenson will cost the Vikings $16.6 million in cap space, while the Lions are spending less than a third of that on the entire position. Of course, finding a Pro Bowl tight end in the second round certainly helped the Lions, and soon they will have to give Sam LaPorta an even bigger contract, but in the meantime, if you’re looking for a place Detroit is saving, it’s right here. Offensive line: $61.4 million — 7th Contract not in yet: Dan Skipper It’s a little surprising that the Lions aren’t even higher than seventh, considering they have three players who are amongst the highest paid at their position. Decker has the highest cap hit among left tackles ($23.1M), Frank Ragnow is second among centers ($14.1M), and Penei Sewell is 14th among right tackles ($9.5M). Even Graham Glasgow ($7.4M) is 22nd among guards. But at the moment, the Lions’ projected other starter—Christian Mahogany—is not even among the Lions’ top 51 contracts, meaning his $994,597 cap hit won’t even count against Detroit’s overall salary cap. Next year, though, Detroit’s spending on offensive line jumps to third overall, mostly because Sewell will inflate to a $28 million cap hit, while Decker will remain above $20 million and Ragnow north of $16 million. Detroit could save money by either cutting/trading Decker in 2026 ($11.M in savings) or restructuring Sewell (up to ~$14M in savings), but the best way would be to find another cheap starter on the offensive line through the draft. ...read more read less