Going back to before free agency, it would have been surprising if the Detroit Lions had re-signed Josh Reynolds. His market was very slow to develop though, and it barely developed with just one know free agent visit.
On Tuesday at the NFL league meetings, Lions’ general manager Brad Holmes pointed to Reynolds as part of the “Plan A” in free agency. Earlier in the day, head coach Dan Campbell said the team was still in touch with Reynolds as the door seemed open to bringing him back.
Coincidentally or not, the day after those comments from the two most front-facing people in the Lions’ organization, Reynolds agreed to a two-year deal with the Denver Broncos worth “up to” $14 million.
“Up to” is a term that serves as PR for an agent who feeds a reporter the scoop on a free agent signing. When the firm details of Reynolds’ contract with the Broncos come out, we’ll see how feasibly he can get “up to” $14 million over the two years. But it’s fair to say if the Lions made him an offer, it was not going to max out at $7 million per year.
