ALLEN PARK -- Bob Quinn has been tweaking the Detroit Lions' roster the past couple months, cutting a Joique Bell here and adding an Austin Willis there.
But to this point, his splashiest move probably was cutting Stephen Tulloch -- and even that move was practically inevitable, given Tulloch's cap hit and diminishing play.
Then came Wednesday.
Reports leaked in the early morning, hours before free agency was set to start, that the Lions had agreed in principle to a five-year deal with Bengals wideout Marvin Jones that is reportedly worth $40 million. He can officially sign his deal, which includes $20 million in guarantees, when free agency opens at 4 p.m.
That's a big fish. Probably the biggest fish in the whole pond at that position, honestly, and that position was among Detroit's foremost needs in a post-Calvin world.
The Lions' roster was left with Golden Tate at receiver, then a bunch of names -- TJ Jones, Corey Fuller, Ryan Spadola, Corey Washington and Willis -- that might as well have been question marks.
Detroit needed a receiver to pair with Tate. So it went out and got probably the best one available.
It was an aggressive, somewhat surprising move from Quinn, and certainly his most notable since becoming Detroit's general manager in January. The reported $8 million in annual compensation is a hefty price tag for a receiver who has never caught more than 65 passes in a season.
Just consider Tate. He's a far more productive and established receiver than Jones who has averaged 94.5 catches for 1,072 yards in two seasons with Detroit. He is currently playing out a deal that pays him an average of $6.3 million annually.
Jones, by contrast, has never caught more than 65 passes or accounted for more than 816 yards in any season. And he's about to make more money than Tate has ever seen.
But this is the NFL, where timing is everything. Tate was fighting more established receivers like Emmanuel Sanders, Ted Ginn and Jacoby Jones for his pay day. Marvin Jones might have been the best receiver available this year, with only Cleveland's Travis Benjamin giving him any kind of run.
And after those guys, it was nobody.
This was a thin crop of receivers, in a draft cycle that is likewise lean at the position. That ratcheted up the demand for everyone, and did so in a year when the cap jumped $12 million, no less.
So, yeah, the Lions had to pay more money than they probably would have liked to acquire a starting receiver. Quinn himself has spoken at length about building the depth of the club, and avoiding the trappings of overpaying on the free agent market.
But once Calvin Johnson retired, Detroit really didn't have much other recourse. There just aren't a lot of options.
So they used the $11.1 million they found in their couch cushions on Tuesday, and re-invested in the position. The specifics of Jones' deal have yet to be released, but Detroit -- which had about $41 million overall to spend this year, and a lot more going forward with Johnson's deal off the books in 2017 -- has more than enough financial flexibility to take on this kind of deal.
Even if it is a little bloated.
Bob Quinn deserves praise. He had a need emerge on a Tuesday, addressed it with probably the best possible player on a Wednesday -- and did so while outmaneuvering his old team, the Patriots, who also prized Jones.
Don't get too wrapped up in the money. Detroit is a better team today than it was yesterday, and still has plenty more to spend at its other positions of need. And Lord knows they have them.
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