Calvin Johnson is moving closer and closer to retirement, which means the Detroit Lions will potentially have another $11.1 million to work with in free agency.
Receiver is going to become a much bigger need for Detroit, either through a fairly weak free agent class or a pretty strong draft class. There are other ways the Lions could use the extra money they'll have – on top of the potentially $20 million in cap money available.
Johnson's retirement might make the Lions more willing to keep some of the players under contract that are potential cap casualties: linebacker Stephen Tulloch, running back Joique Bell and tight end Brandon Pettigrew.