Bad contracts can mortgage a franchise’s future and derail a lot of hard work. Fortunately for the Detroit Lions, there are only a few challenging contracts counting against their salary cap in 2018 and that’s a credit to their administrators’ ability to manage a difficult process.

The Lions main salary cap administrators are general manager Bob Quinn, vice president of football administration Matt Harriss and manager of football administration/lead counsel Jon Dykema. Quinn oversees the entire operation, while Harriss and Dykema take the lead on negotiating contracts and managing the cap.

The NFL salary cap is complicated and while player contracts are public, certain aspects, like incentives and bonuses, can be confusing. The basic framework of these contracts can be found online and my preferred resource is OverTheCap.com, which I will be using for the contact information provided in this article.

When determining unfavorable contracts, the primary things to keep in mind is cost, obviously, and role on the team. For example, Ezekiel Ansah has the second highest contract on the roster but he’s a pivotal cog on defense so there is a justification of the price tag.

Here’s a look at three players who have top-13 contracts, yet are not projected into starting roles for the Lions in 2018.

EDGE Cornelius Washington: $3,471,875

Where Washington falls on the depth chart is still unclear and that will be a critical factor in determining if he is worth the cost. It’s tough to ascertain a defensive lineman’s value in non-contact OTAs, but if he falls behind too many players in training camp, he could be in trouble.

Washington’s experience and versatility give him an edge – he has lined up everywhere from nose tackle to pass rushing linebacker – but as of right now, he could easily be behind Ansah, Anthony Zettel and, depending on how he recovers from his Achilles injury, Kerry Hyder.

If the Lions only keep four traditional down defensive ends, Washington will still be in a good spot but he will also be looking over his shoulder at players like Jeremiah Valoaga, Alex Barrett and Cam Johnson.

If released, Washington would clear $2,721,875 in salary cap space.

CB Nevin Lawson: $3,925,000

After splitting starting duties in 2017, Lawson hit the free agent market, but instead of taking his talents elsewhere, he returned to Detroit on a salary that indicated he was likely in the mix for a starting role.

When OTAs began, most expected to see Lawson lined up as a starter on the outside or in nickel. But it was sophomore corners Teez Tabor starting across from Darius Slay and Jamal Agnew matching up with Golden Tate in the slot.

We’re still a long way from the preseason, and Lawson will almost assuredly get more chances to win a starting job, but if he doesn’t, he will have to fight off veteran free agent DeShawn Shead and four undrafted free agent corners led by Mike Ford, who is a sleeper for the 53-man roster.

Because of the guarantees in his new two-year contract, if he was released, Lawson would only clear $475,000 in cap space in 2018.

RB Theo Riddick: $4,137,500

Riddick is one of, if not the shiftiest running backs in space in the NFL. He can be a weapon on offense and if the Lions plan on rotating backs like the Patriots do, his job will most likely be safe.

With LeGarrette Blount and Kerryon Johnson looking like the starting duo in OTAs, Riddick will more than likely see his role reduced. And if Ameer Abdullah can return to form, the Lions backfield looks awfully crowded.

Abdullah is likely the biggest challenger to take snaps from Riddick, as they succeed in similar ways, but there should be room on the roster for both players to exist.

The biggest obstacle to Riddick staying on the roster is the available cap space that would be freed up if the Lions moved on. Despite having two seasons left on his contract, he would clear $3,175,000 in cap space.

Riddick should feel comfortable in the fact that Quinn doesn’t typically dictate his roster decisions based on cap space, but if there are injuries in training camp and moves are required, releasing Riddick from his contract is the quickest way to free up a lot of cap space from a non-starter.

Side Note: DeAndre Levy

Despite not being on the Lions roster for the last two seasons, Levy’s contract still accounts for $4.8 million in dead money in 2018.

The contract was originally negotiated by the Martin Mayhew/Tom Lewand administration in 2015, but Levy never player beyond the 2016 season leaving a lot of dead money left on the Lions salary cap.

After the 2016 season, Quinn released Levy and I discussed the cap implications:

If he was a standard release, the entire prorated $7.2 milion would count against the 2017 cap. But with Levy being a June 1 roster cut, the prorated money for 2017 ($2.4 million) still impacts the Lions current cap, but the remaining balance ($4.8 million) will be assigned to the Lions 2018 cap after June 1.

After this season, the Levy contract will be fulfilled and off the ledger, but for now, this is probably the most egregious flaw in the Lions salary cap.