According to the Tampa Bay Times‘ Rick Stroud, the Buccaneers and Detroit Lions will not use an arbitrator to rule on their offer sheet dispute over defensive end George Johnson. Instead, the two sides have reportedly worked out a trade which will send Johnson to Tampa Bay for what Stroud is calling “low-round picks.”
On Monday, the NFL confirmed that the Lions were disputing the terms of the contract which included de-escalators that could increase the total money in the three-year deal from $7 to $9 million.
League rules stipulate that an arbitrator would be given 10 days to reach a decision in the disagreement and the Lions would have two days to decide whether or not they will match the offer sheet.