It appears that All-Pro accolades may not be sufficient to ensure your spot on the Detroit Lions’ roster this offseason. After finishing a 15-2 season that concluded in an unsatisfactory manner, the Lions face significant choices to consider in the upcoming months. Certain choices revolve around whom they must release to create cap space. One player mentioned as a possible cut received an All-Pro accolade just last year. Pride of Detroit’s John Witicar identified Lions special teamer Jalen Reeves-Maybin as a possible cap casualty for the squad in the 2025 NFL offseason.
Reeves-Maybin has spent the majority of his NFL career with the Lions. Detroit selected him in the fourth round of the 2017 draft, and he remained with the team for the next five years, although he was only a consistent starter in one of those years. He subsequently spent a year with the Houston Texans until they released him midway through a two-year deal. The Lions seized this chance and re-signed him to a one-year contract. Reeves-Maybin made a significant impact that season. His performance on special teams secured him a place in the Pro Bowl and on the All-Pro second team.
The Lions gave him a two-year deal valued at $7.5 million. That hasn’t turned out quite as well. In 2024, he participated in only 10 games, achieving 14 tackles while missing an alarming 17.6% of his tackle attempts. This puts the Lions in a significant position. According to Spotrac, Reeves-Maybin has a cap hit of $4.75 million for the 2025 season. The Lions can conserve $2 million of that by releasing him. Similar to Kalif Raymond, who is also viewed as a potential cut, the key issue here is how much you are willing to invest in special teams players.
In this situation, it’s a special teams athlete who had a rather poor season. Reeves-Maybin is another player who could easily be released if the team believes that $2 million could be better utilized, particularly with his recent history of injuries and his 30th birthday approaching fast.