PFF grades so far
RB DAVID MONTGOMERY SIGNS A THREE-YEAR DEAL WITH THE DETROIT LIONS
2022 PFF Grade: 67.9 (44th/60 RB) 2022 PFF WAR: 0.13 (22nd RB)
Fit/need grade: B+
Value grade: B
Contract: Three years, $18 million ($6 million per year), $11 million guaranteed
PFF projected contract: Three years, $19.5 million ($6.5 million per year), $12.25 million guaranteed
Montgomery stays in the NFC North after playing out his rookie contract with the Chicago Bears and is primed to face his old team twice a year as a part of a committee with D?Andre Swift.
The former third-round pick has hauled in at least 25 receptions in every season of his career and regularly avoids negative plays by routinely shaking off tacklers in the backfield.
Montgomery fills the void left behind Jamaal Williams as the short-yardage back, but he can also pass catches out of the backfield ? he occasionally lines up in the slot and out wide ? and is a plus pass protector at the position, with his 71.7 pass-blocking grade since 2019 a top-10 mark at the position.
Montgomery is as tough as they come, and has legitimate three-down potential if D?Andre Swift were to miss time with injury, whereas Jamaal Williams has become more of an early-down-only type of player.
DL JOHN COMINSKY RE-SIGNS WITH THE DETROIT LIONS
Fit/need grade: A
Value grade: A
Contract: Two years, $8.5 million ($4.25 million per year), $4 million guaranteed
PFF projected contract: N/A
Cominsky broke out in 2022 with the Lions and brings a needed skill set as an inside-outside flex player who can rush the passer from all over the defensive formation, kicking inside on passing downs and doing quite well in that role. The lack of a contract projection here was frankly an oversight; Cominsky belonged on our top 200 free agents list. With an incredibly long list of interior defender free agents, Detroit retains one of its own for a modest price.
Cominsky started the year with a 22.2% pass-rush win rate, which ranked fifth, and 10 quarterback pressures, which were the second most from an interior defender through Week 2. He then had to undergo surgery and didn?t return to a full role until Week 10, but he recorded multiple quarterback pressures in seven out of nine games to close out the year.
CB EMMANUEL MOSELEY TO SIGN ONE-YEAR, $6 MILLION DEAL WITH DETROIT LIONS
2022 PFF Grade: 70.9 (N/A) 2022 PFF WAR: 0.14 (62nd CB)
Fit/need grade: A
Value grade: A-
Contract: One year, $6 million
PFF projected contract: One year, $4.25 million, $3 million guaranteed
This is a smart buy-low decision from the Detroit Lions on a player who started off the 2022 season strong, earning a career-high 73.5 coverage grade through Week 5, before tearing his ACL leading up to Week 6. That injury is far removed from Week 1 of 2023, so it?s not as if Moseley recently got hurt and is beginning rehab. Detroit has now added Cameron Sutton and Moseley, with Jeffrey Okudah and Jerry Jacobs in the fold, which could dramatically improve their cornerback unit that was in desperate need of reinforcement.
The interesting thing to monitor will be if Sutton kicks inside to the slot in nickel packages, with his flexibility a nice component of his value, though he?s played more on the outside in recent years.
ALEX ANZALONE RE-SIGNS WITH THE DETROIT LIONS FOR THREE YEARS
Fit/need grade: B-
Value grade: C
Contract: Three years, $18.75 million ($6.25 million per year),
PFF projected contract: Two years, $7 million ($3.5 million)
Anzalone was solid for the Lions last year, with his 58.5 PFF run-defense grade and 58.9 PFF coverage grade both ranking in the top 60 among all linebackers. It?s just a bit of an overpay on a day when we saw a division rival in the Bears sign T.J. Edwards for a pretty similar deal. Anzalone is not a bad player for the Lions to bring back, he just costs more than you?d like given his limitations.
CB CAMERON SUTTON PLANS TO SIGN DEAL WITH DETROIT LIONS
Fit/need grade: A-
Value grade: B
Contract: Three years, $33 million, $21.5 million total guaranteed
PFF projected contract: Three years, $25.5 million, $15.5 million total guaranteed
Sutton quietly continued to excel in a Pittsburgh coverage unit that was otherwise very exploitable, even though 2022 was just his second season as a full-time starter on the outside. Sutton earned a 71.0 coverage grade, and he allowed just 411 receiving yards, the ninth-best mark among cornerbacks with at least 400 coverage snaps on the season.
The Lions needed to find an outside cornerback in free agency this offseason, and Sutton provides exactly that. Pittsburgh played man coverage at about the same rate as Detroit did in 2022, and so the schematic fit makes sense for both sides.
