By waiting the market out on safeties, the Detroit Lions got another bargain in free agency.

After an early spending spree for safeties, which saw five players get multi-year deals averaging more than $5 million per season, the Lions were able to sign top target James Ihedigbo for two years, $3.15 million with only a $750,000 signing bonus guaranteed.

Ihedigbo's deal is essentially a one-year deal with a second-year option for Detroit. Next season, he'll earn a base salary of $750,000 and a workout bonus of $25,000. Given that signing bonuses are prorated over the duration of the contract, in this case two years, Ihedigbo will count just $1.15 million against the cap in 2014.

The Lions will need to make a decision whether to retain Ihedigbo in March, 2015, when he's due a roster bonus of $500,000.

If he fails to meet expectations, or the team has a younger player on the roster deserving of more playing time, Detroit can release the veteran with only the remaining $375,000 counting against the cap in 2015.

If there is no succession plan in place, or Ihedigbo exceeds expectations, the team can retain him for a reasonable $2 million cap hit.

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