Written by Kyle Meinke at MLive.com
The Detroit Lions say they won’t put a deadline on Calvin Johnson to make a decision about his future.
But that doesn’t mean they aren’t in sort of a hurry either.
With the start of free agency looming at 4 p.m. Wednesday, the Lions are telling people around the league that they hope to hear a decision from Johnson sometime today,according to the Detroit Free Press.
Detroit would like to know Johnson’s decision on at least two fronts: The club will know just how big of a need they have at receiver heading into free agency, and just how much money it has to spend at the position and others.
The Lions have several pressing needs, including offensive line, defensive line and linebacker. General manager Bob Quinn has said repairing the offensive line, which has allowed 89 sacks the past two seasons, is among his foremost priorities.
But with Johnson’s $24 million cap hit hanging over their heads, it is hard to determine just how much of a player the Lions can be in free agency. They currently have about $30 million in cap space, which is middle of the pack league wide.
They would add about $11.1 million to cap relief if Johnson retired — though some of that would have to go back into the position, where Golden Tate is the only other established receiver on the roster.
TJ Jones (10 career catches) and Corey Fuller (18 catches) are also under contract, though the club is not expected to lean on either as a starter headed into 2016.
All of that means the Lions would like to have an answer from Johnson sooner rather than later, though they appear reluctant to push too hard on imposing a firm deadline.
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