Peyton Manning and Heath Miller appeared on the NFL’s daily transaction release Monday as the two newest members of the reserve/retired list.
Wide receiver Calvin Johnson is not on that list, which leaves the Lions without a firm answer on his plans for the 2016 season. Lions General Manager Bob Quinn said late last month that he’s spoken to Johnson, but that Johnson did not say whether he wants to retire or not.
Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press reports that the team is still saying they don’t know his plans with the league’s pre-free agency “legal tampering” window open as of Monday. They’ve been telling representatives of players around the league that they hope to know what Johnson is doing in the next 24 hours.
It’s pretty much a need for the Lions to know because entering free agency with Johnson’s $24 million cap hit on the books will cut into the space they need to add other players. The Lions can release Johnson, freeing up a bit more than $11 million in cap space, and that wouldn’t be a bad thing for Johnson. He’d be free from having to repay any of his signing bonus and would be a free agent in the event he retires and later decides to resume his playing career.
Either way, the Lions need some resolution on the matter soon.