With the Lions still needing to get their 2026 cap situation in order, three familiar names stand out as the most logical candidates for a restructure: Amon-Ra St. Brown, Alim McNeill and Penei Sewell.
That matters because Detroit is over the cap as of Labor Day, and once a final 53-man roster is filed, every contract counts against the cap instead of just 51. The Lions currently have 51 players rostered, so even with the roster down to the wire, they still likely need to create space by adjusting existing deals.
The biggest potential swing comes from St. Brown.
Restructuring his contract could free up $20,054,918 for 2026, according to Over the Cap’s cap calculator. There’s a clear case for doing it: he’s 27, he’s viewed as a franchise face, and he remains one of the long-term pillars of the team’s contention window.
The tradeoff is real, though. Detroit would be pushing money down the road and taking on a $10 million cap hit in 2031, three years after his deal is actually done with the Lions.
McNeill is the next most practical option, with a restructure projecting to clear $15,627,668 for 2026. That move would carry a lighter long-term burden than some of the others, and McNeill still profiles as a key part of the defense.
The expectation is that he rebounds in 2026 after coming back from injury and looking a step slow last season. Detroit would be tied to $8,662,250 in bonus money for McNeill by 2029, one year after his extension ends, but nothing would be owed after that.
That kind of room could also give the Lions enough flexibility to promote two practice-squad players to fill out the roster or sign two players at the veteran minimum.
Sewell rounds out the list, and his restructure could open up $13,566,918 in 2026 space. He fits the same basic logic as St.
Brown: Detroit sees him as part of the blueprint for success, so committing more money to him later isn’t much of a stretch. Under that setup, Sewell would affect the cap only through 2030, and the total there would be $3.7 million.
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