Lions restructure contracts of two stars. What it means

The Detroit Lions restructured the contracts of two key offensive stars—wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown and right tackle Penei Sewell—on Sept. 12, according to Spotrac. The moves convert portions of base salaries into signing bonuses, freeing salary-cap room and pushing Detroit’s available cap number to roughly $38 million entering Week 1. That places the Lions second in the NFL for cap space behind the San Francisco 49ers, who have $45.5 million. The article says the extra room could help with potential extensions for tight end Sam LaPorta and safety Brian Branch, both returning from injuries as the season starts.