Evan Brown has been a solid depth piece along Detroit's offensive line for the past two seasons now. And, this offseason, he's set to be an unrestricted free agent.
Should Lions general manager Brad Holmes consider inking Brown to a new contract? For the right price, I say yes.
For starters, he's been the definition of versatile, which is surely attractive to any NFL franchise.
Over the past two seasons, Brown's started 24 games -- exactly 12 at each center and right guard.
In 2021, the SMU product was pressed into duty at center, after starter Frank Ragnow went down with a season-ending toe injury in early October. Brown did an admirable job anchoring Detroit's offensive line in place of Ragnow, and subsequently earned his fair share of respect from his peers and the Lions' coaching staff.
Fast-forward to the 2022 campaign, which saw Brown have to fill in for yet another injured starter. With Halapoulivaati Vaitai being forced to miss the entirety of the season with a back ailment, Brown became Detroit's primary starter at right guard.
Sure, Brown had a couple of subpar performances along the way this past season -- most notably in Week 16 against the Panthers and in Week 18 against the Packers.
However, overall wise, the 26-year-old was more productive than not. In fact, according to Pro Football Focus, he graded out as the 33rd best guard, out of 78 qualified players at the position, with an overall mark of 64.8. He also received a top-10 pass-blocking grade from the analytics site. Not too shabby for a former undrafted free agent who made a base salary of just $1.2 million in 2022.
The Lions received some great value from the interior offensive lineman over the past year, and now they'll have a chance to re-sign him this offseason.
Brown won't come nearly as cheap for Holmes & Co. as he did a year ago, though. As noted above, he inked a one-year deal worth $1.2M coming off his 2021 season with Detroit -- the type of contract that a reserve offensive lineman signs.
However, now that he's started the majority of the past two seasons and at two different positions, he's bound to cash in and get starting-caliber money this offseason. And, it could come from Detroit, if Holmes & Co. decide to cut ties with Vaitai.
Per Spotrac, Brown's present market value is a little under $10.9M per season.
If I were Holmes, I wouldn't go that high. Instead, I'd offer the 6-foot-3, 320-pounder a three-year contract worth approximately $8 million a season.
And, if Brown were to reject the offer, I'd let him walk in free agency.
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