NFL Free Agency 2020: Grades for every team after first wave

There is little question that Lions general manager Bob Quinn and head coach Matt Patricia are trying to get aggressive to get Detroit out of the league’s cellar as they finished with the third-worst record in the league in 2019. And they’ve been spending heavily in 2020 NFL free agency to do so. The issue, however, is that they’re doing it in what appears to be all the wrong ways, handing out questionable-at-best deals across the board.

Giving Halapoulivaati Vaitai five years, $50 million is excessive, as are the contracts that Detroit handed to Jamie Collins and Desmond Trufant. Yes, they will help this team but not to the tune of what they’re being paid and with all the help they need. Throw in that the Lions also traded Darius Slay this offseason amidst rumblings about a pretty concerning locker room dynamic under Patricia and this has been anything but a good offseason for Detroit.

Packers general manager Brian Gutenkunst wasn’t kidding when he told fans not to expect the same type of aggressive approach to free agency that Green Bay employed last offseason. They’ve been operating on a budget so far in 2020 while letting some veterans in Bryan Bulaga and Blake Martinez walk. But at the same time, the moves they’ve made have been smart and keep this team in line to still compete atop the NFC.

Christian Kirksey getting $8 million per season on a two-year deal is expensive but, if incentive-rich, it’s a contract that could pay off to help upgrade the linebacker corp. Meanwhile, Rick Wagner can be only a slight downgrade from Bulaga at right tackle while Devin Funchess at least gives the offense another option at wide receiver.

Is any of this incredibly exciting? Of course not. But are they smart moves that set the team up to attack the draft smartly? Indubitably.