The free agent most commonly linked to the Detroit Lions has been running back Reggie Bush, but as we speculated Monday morning, the price tag associated with the safety position could allow to the Lions to pursue one of the top names on the market in that critical area of need.

According to a report from ESPN.com's Adam Schefter, the Lions are one of four teams in the mix to sign San Francisco 49ers safety Dashon Goldson. Schefter went as far as to label Detroit a favorite.

Goldson, 28, is the consensus best player available at his position. He's coming off two consecutive Pro Bowl seasons and was named an All-Pro by the Associated Press in 2012. He finished last season with 69 tackles, three interceptions and 11 pass breakups.

How the Lions would free up with the necessary cap space to land Goldson remains a key question. Depending on the final numbers from DeAndre Levy's re-signing last week, Detroit has between $3-5 million to spend.

A contract for Goldson is expected to average between $7-8 million.

The Lions' quickest solution would be extending the contract of Matthew Stafford, lowering the quarterback's gaudy $20.8 million cap number for 2013. Given the complexities of those negotiations, that seems unlikely to get done by Tuesday.

Detroit also has simpler restructurings available if they just want to delay the cap hit, the biggest being defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh's $18.2 million figure.

Signing Goldson could ultimately signal the end of Louis Delmas and Amari Spievey's time in Detroit. Delmas is set to become an unrestricted free agent Tuesday afternoon while Spievey is restricted and could still be tendered to a one-year, $1.323 million contract.