The Detroit Lions are getting their books in order as they near the start of the new league year, and that includes stripping the roster of some veteran leadership. On Friday, the club officially announced the release of defensive tackle Michael Brockers, which frees up $10 million in salary cap space. Now, Detroit is currently looking at roughly $26 million in available cap space for free agency, which is just outside the top 10 in the league, according to Spotrac.
"We would like to thank Michael Brockers for his leadership over the last two seasons," Lions general manager Brad Holmes said in a statement. "As one of our team captains in 2022, Brock's veteran voice and presence were instrumental in helping guide and develop our young locker room. He is one of the true professionals of our game and we have the highest respect for him as a man. We wish him and his family well on their next chapter."
The Lions acquired Brockers in a deal with the Rams back in March of 2021. Upon arrival, the defensive tackle inked a three-year, $24 million deal. While Brockers was a team captain in 2022, his playing time diminished as the Lions decided to go in a different direction up front as the season progressed. The 32-year-old played in six games in all in 2022, and each of his five starts came within the first five weeks of the season before being inactive for the majority of the year.
In all, he had four tackles and a pass breakup while playing 29% of Detroit's total defensive snaps.
With the Lions releasing Brockers now, the veteran has a leg up on finding a new home somewhere in the NFL before the rest of the free agent pool hits the market in a few weeks.