Starting Monday at noon, teams are permitted to contact and enter into contract negotiations with the certified agents of players who will become unrestricted free agents. At 4 p.m. on Wednesday, March 11, the new league year begins and with it the official start of free agency where those deals can be signed.
It's the first opportunity for Lions general manager Brad Holmes and head coach Dan Campbell to address roster needs.
The Lions still have some work to do freeing up more salary cap space so they can pursue their targets in free agency, but Holmes will make sure they have enough room to cover free agency and any possible extensions for current players coming down the line.
With free agency less than a week away, here's a look at five of Detroit's biggest needs heading into the new league year:
The Lions released starting center Graham Glasgow earlier this week. Holmes said moving right guard Tate Ratledge to center is still an option when speaking to reporters at the NFL Scouting Combine.
The good thing for Detroit is this is a good free-agent center class led by Baltimore's Tyler Linderbaum, who is expected to set a new salary market at the position. Detroit might not have the resources to make that kind of play at the position, but other veterans like Connor McGovern (Buffalo), Cade Mays (Carolina), Ethan Pocic (Cleveland), Tyler Biadasz (Washington) or others could step in and stabilize the position for years to come.
Top free agents: Linderbaum, McGovern, Mays, Pocic, Biadasz
Top draft prospects: Sam Hecht (Kansas State), Jake Slaughter (Florida), Trey Zuhn III (Texas A&M), Connor Lew (Auburn), Logan Jones (Iowa)