Detroit Lions Rumors: Lions 2021 NFL Free Agency Targets Won't Be Big Names, Not Big Spenders

The NFL’s free agency period doesn’t kick off until March 17th, but the new Lions regime dropped a serious hint on its approach to free agency this week.

Special assistant to the owner Chris Spielman talked about his philosophy on roster building and free agency during his Tuesday morning guest appearance on 97.1 The Ticket in Detroit. While Spielman isn’t in charge — GM Brad Holmes and senior personnel executive John Dorsey are — it’s wise to consider his views as those shared by the new braintrust.

“I’m sure in free agency, in any philosophy, you can fill in voids in free agency, but you can’t buy a locker room,” Spielman said. “That’s been a philosophy for a lot of teams. Generally, what I believe, you want to build your team through the draft. It’s kinda draft, develop and re-sign. I think that’s hopefully the direction the Lions will take.”

Spielman continued,

“Everybody understands that the most successful teams, usually, build through the draft, get your core nucleus of players and you try to re-sign those guys to a second contract.”

That’s very in-line with Holmes’s background as the director of collegiate scouting for the Rams. That perennial playoff contender was built through the draft and aggressive trades more than free agency.

Chris Spielman, the former Lions player who now has a prominent place in the team’s front office, indicated this week that he hopes to keep wide receiver Kenny Golladay, who is poised to become a free agent next month.

Spielman said on WXYT-FM that he’s a big fan of the way Golladay plays the game.

“I think Kenny is a, he’s a competitive guy and the thing that I’ve always admired most about Kenny when doing the games on TV is his ability to win the 50-50 ball,” Spielman said, via the Detroit Free Press. “I just think his size and what he can bring to the table is something that a lot of people liked about Kenny Golladay, including me.”

Spielman also said that he believes in building a team with wide receivers near the top of the list of priorities — something that Spielman, a former middle linebacker, didn’t always think.

“I have a theory that you kind of, back when I played . . . you used to build from the inside out,” Spielman said. “Well, today’s league, I think you build from the outside in.”

The Lions are currently slated to be over the 2021 salary cap, so they have some moves to make before they can either sign Golladay to a new contract or put the franchise tag on him. But Spielman sounds like he wants the Lions to make those moves.

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Source:
(Ridson, 2021)
https://lionswire.usatoday.com/2021/02/24/lions-chris-spielman-you-cant-buy-a-locker-room-in-free-agency/

(PFT, 2021)
https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2021/02/24/chris-spielman-signals-he-wants-to-keep-kenny-golladay/

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