1. OG Halapoulivaati The clear winner in this case is Vaitai Vaitai. He had a back ailment that necessitated surgery, which kept him out of the game for the whole 2022 season. He returned to full health to begin the 2023 season as the starting right guard. Graham Glasgow took over that role after a knee injury in Week 2, and he never looked back, with the exception of an injury-related substitution that let Vaitai start one more game.
Vaitai eventually returned with a back ailment and was included on the injury report. He was put on inactive retirement (IR) in mid-November, ending his 2023 campaign.
According to Justin Rogers of the Detroit News, after suffering an injury in 2022, Vaitai briefly thought about retiring.
“Let me just rest after surgery,” I said to myself. “Let me simply savor this moment,” Vaitai stated on Thursday. “Yeah, I’m not ready to retire yet. I can’t leave all my guys,” Vaitai remarked after beginning training once more. “I can’t abandon them. I really adore this team. I’m going to assist Dan Campbell, the coach, in winning one.”
Vaitai accepted a substantial pay cut to remain with the Lions during the previous summer despite concerns about his health. His final year with the Lions (2024) became invalid due to that restructure, which naturally rendered him a free agent a year early.
Vaitai must decide whether to return to the rehab of a back ailment and enter what will likely be a shaky market for his services. He might return to the Lions on a very inexpensive one-year contract, or he could sign with another team. Would he find that worthwhile, though?
Vaitai made a strong implication last offseason that he might have retired if it weren’t for his decision to rejoin the Lions. As a full-fledged free agent, that option feels like it’s off the table this time around, so “Big V” might be okay with just calling it a career.
2. Charles Harris, DE
I know this one seems aggressive, but bear with me.
With a team-high 7.5 sacks in his debut season as a Lion (2021), Harris saved his career from the first-round draft bust land (drafted No. 22 overall by the Miami Dolphins in 2017). It was, however, a temporary lifeline.
Harris was not a significant player when he was on the field (one sack in six games), but an injury eventually forced him to the injured reserve in 2022. Although he had a noteworthy debut last season, his Week 7 healthy scratch was a major hint of things to come.
Harris would play just 65 defensive snaps overall in the seven games he did suit up for (11 snaps in the final three games), and he would be a healthy scratch three more times during the regular season. Then, in each of the Lions’ three postseason games, he was a healthy scratch.
Someone else needed to step up after the Lions’ failure to produce a pass rush off the edge last season, aside from Aidan Hutchinson. For reasons we may never fully know, Harris was eventually rendered a complete non-entity on that front. However, given that his position was being reduced prior to his first healthy scratch, we can assume it had something to do with his practice effort. You won’t play for this Lions coaching staff if you don’t consistently bring it to practice.
In seven NFL seasons, Harris has only had one successful season. It seems revealing that it happened during a time when his career was in jeopardy and the Lions were embarking on their first-ever reconstruction. He might sign somewhere (not in Detroit) for a contract comparable to his initial one with the Lions. However, there’s a danger that what the other 31 teams tell him on the open market would ruin his career.
Two of the Detroit Lions’ own free agents, linebacker/special teams star Jalen Reeves-Maybin and kicker Michael Badgley, have already been re-signed. Teddy Bridgewater, the No. 2 quarterback from the previous season, has announced his retirement to take a position as head coach at his alma mater, a high school.
Looking at the Lions’ free agent roster raises some concerns about who will be re-signed, even though general manager Brad Holmes believes that keeping their own players should come first. Many others are unlikely to return due to performance-related issues. It has been rumored that cornerback Khalil Dorsey, an exclusive rights free agent, will not receive a contract offer and will become a free agent.
There may not be much demand for some other Lions free agents’ skills elsewhere, and they won’t be returning to Detroit. It might even not exist at all. If they are unable to find a new team and the Lions refuse to have them back, their football careers may come to an end.
In the end, these three free agents for the Lions could have to retire this summer.
Three free agents for the Detroit Lions who may have to retire
3. QB Nate Sudfeld
Following a ruptured ACL in the Lions’ preseason finale, Sudfeld was placed on injured reserve for the 2023 season. In 2022, he had two appearances as Jared Goff’s backup and did not attempt a pass.
Since Hendon Hooker is presently projected to start at quarterback for the Lions next season and David Blough, like Bridgewater, is retiring to become a coach, there is a case to be made for re-signing Sudfeld given his familiarity with the playbook, as explained by Jeremy Reisman of Pride of Detroit.
By now, around half a year after the injury, it’s hard to say where Sudfeld stands with his ACL healing. There are healthier (if not better) choices available if the Lions decide to add an experienced No. 3 emergency quarterback to the mix, which they most likely will at some time. The same can be said of other teams.
Sudfeld has attempted 37 passes during the regular season (14 since 2018) since being chosen in 2016. He just recovered from a serious injury.
For someone who has essentially had a game’s worth of pass attempts in eight seasons, $11.6 million in lifetime earnings is very impressive, and Sudfeld may be done.
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