Lions won't tender LB Josh Bynes but want him back

The Detroit Lions thought enough of Josh Bynes after they signed him off of the Baltimore Ravens' practice squad last year that they plugged him into certain defensive packages to make sure he got regular snaps the second half of the season.

Bynes played well enough in limited time at middle linebacker that the Lions want him back for 2015. But on their terms.

The team has informed Bynes that it won't tender him as a restricted free agent before the start of the new league year but still wants to re-sign him in the coming weeks.

Bynes is part of a shrinking group of restricted free agents across the league, a class of player being whittled away by the new collective bargaining agreement.

All rookie draft picks get four-year deals, so restricted free agency -- which comes after a player's third accrued season -- typically is left for undrafted players such as Bynes.

The Lions have one other restricted free agent on their roster, quarterback Kellen Moore, and it would be a surprise if they tendered him.

Moore has never dressed for a regular-season game in his three NFL seasons, but the Lions, who went cheap behind starting QB Matthew Stafford last year, would like him back as their second or third quarterback.

Teams can tender restricted free agents at one of three levels: A first-round tender ($3.113 million last year; this year's dollar figures are not yet known) guarantees the team a first-round pick as compensation if it does not match another team's offer sheet. A second-round tender ($2.187 million last year) provides a second-round pick as compensation, while a low tender ($1.323 million last year) comes with no compensation but the right to match any offer.

The minimum salary next year for a player in his fourth season will be $660,000.

The Lions entered today about $17 million under this year's projected salary cap, but they'd need most of that room to sign this year's draft class and re-sign all-pro defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh.

Contact Dave Birkett at dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @davebirkett.