This is what I'd like to see happen, although of course I doubt it will.

Beginning 2013 cap hit: $109 million

Extension:
Matthew Stafford – 7 years, $120 million
2013 savings: $11 million – team number now $98 million

Restructure:
Calvin Johnson, WR – convert salary to bonus
2013 savings: $3.5 million – team number now $94.5 million

Re-sign:
Cliff Avril, DE – Franchise Tag $12 million
Chris Houston, CB – 4 yrs, $26 million - $10m signing bonus
Louis Delmas – 4 yrs, $16 million (heavily incentive-based) - $4m signing bonus
Willie Young, DE – ERFA $550k
Justin Durant, OLB – 3 yrs, $10 million - $3m signing bonus
DeAndre Levy, OLB – 3 yrs, $10 million - $3m signing bonus
Ashlee Palmer, OLB – 1 yr, $1 million
Kris Durham, WR – 1 yr, $1 million
Joique Bell, RB – 2 yr, $4 million - $2m signing bonus
Gosder Cherilus, RT – 4 yrs, $16 million - $8m signing bonus
Jason Hanson, K – 1 yr, $2 million
Don Muhlbach, LS – 3 yrs, $3 million
Jason Fox, OT – 3 yrs, $3 million
Corey Williams, DT – 2 yrs, $4 million – $1m signing bonus
Sammie Hill, DT - 5 yrs, $15 million - $2m signing bonus
Ricardo Silva, S – 2 yrs, $2m
Patrick Edwards, WR – 2 yrs, $1.2 million
Combined 2013 hit: apx. $36.5 million
Team number: $131 million

Let walk:
Lawrence Jackson, DE
Kevin Smith, RB
Stefan Logan, KR/PR
Will Heller, TE
Nick Harris, P
Drayton Florence, CB
Jacob Lacey, CB
Amari Spievey, S
Dylan Gandy, OG
Corey Hilliard, OT
Pat Lee, CB
No cap effect

Sign:
Jared Cook, TE – 2 yrs, $6 million - $3m signing bonus
Andy Levitre, RG – 5 yrs, $25 million - $10m signing bonus
Sean Smith, CB – 4 yrs, $20 million - $8m signing bonus
Combined 2013 hit: $8.5 million
Team number: $139.5 million

IR:
Jahvid Best – IR (300k cap penalty to retire/cut)
No cap effect

Release:
Stephen Peterman, G: save $2.65 million
Jeff Backus, LT: save $4.15 million
John Wendling, S – save 500k
Kyle Vanden Bosch, DE – save $5 million
Combined 2013 savings: $12.3 million
Team Number: $127.2 million

Trades:
Lions trade Brandon Pettigrew to Atlanta Falcons for 4th and 5th round picks. $1.15 mil cap savings
Lions trade Titus Young to the Cleveland Browns for a 6th round pick and conditional 2014 pick. $100k cap savings
Combined 2013 savings : $1.25 million
Team number: $125.95million

Draft:
1) Bjoern Werner, DE – Florida State University – Werner immediately will step in at right defensive end, replacing the released Kyle Vanden Bosch. Werner is a terror on the pass rush, racking up 13 sacks, 7 pass deflections, and 18 tackles for loss this season for Florida State. The Lions continue to bolster the defensive line with youth, finally getting the DE with elite potential that they've needed.

2) Barrett Jones, C – Alabama – Barrett Jones is the best center in the draft. The Lions have some time to decide what to do with Dominic Raiola, but it's likely that Jones can and would start in his first season as a pro. The Lions' brass preaches continuity on the offensive line, but Raiola and Backus are declining quickly. It is likely to me that Reiff will take over at tackle next season, and they may as well all grow together. Jones should be the Lions' next long-term solution at center.

3) Margus Hunt, DE – Southern Methodist – The Lions opt here for a player with a boatload of potential. Margus Hunt is going to blow up the combine so he may not be here at this point. He's only been playing football for a few seasons, but he's too good of a physical nightmare to for offenses to pass up here. In 1-2 years I think he will be something special, and hopefully able to take over a starting defensive end spot at that time. Will also be a special teams factor right away as he has blocked many kicks in his career and also possesses the unique ability to deflect passes. They should have him watch film on JJ Watt to try and maximize his potential.

4) a. (Atlanta) Zach Sudfeld, TE – Nevada – Sudfeld, whose career has been somewhat injury riddled, should be an option to start down the road if he can stay healthy. He's got good hands and is a big target for Stafford. Sudfeld replaces Heller on third string to start, but should be the pass/block option that the offense needs.
b. (Comp pick – E. Wright) Shamarko Thomas, S – Syracuse – Shamarko Thomas, while short in stature, certainly knows how to hit and lead. He is another missile out there on the field, and should make a special teams impact right away as he competes with Carlos Silva for the starting spot opposite Louis Delmas.

5) a. (Detroit) Ray Graham, RB – Pitt – Ray Graham, while lacking the top end speed of Jahvid Best, should possess a lot of the same ability in the pass game to give the Lions a scat/home-run threat that they've been lacking since Best has been laid up with concussions and likely will not (and should not) ever return to football. Coming off an ACL surgery last season, he has gotten progressively better and healthy throghout the year.
b. (Atlanta) Jahleel Addae, S – Central Michigan – Jahleel is a safety with both run-stopping and ballhawking ability. I think he starts over Ricardo Silva next season as the Lions get a late round steal. Addae and Shamarko Thomas bolster a weak safety unit as well as provide some insurance for the oft-injured Louis Delmas.

6) a. (Cleveland) Patrick Murray, K/P – Fordham – Murray is a fantastic talent at both punter and kicker. His leg strength is great as both a punter and kicker and he comes with accuracy as well. With the kickoff rules being ever in flux and possibly converting them to a punt, Murray becomes a great value. I can see Murray taking over place kicking and punting duties in the future as the position becomes more consolidated. Murray becomes the team’s franchise kicker when Hanson retires in 2014.
b. (Detroit) Cooper Taylor, S – Richmond – another safety? Yes, I think so. Cooper Taylor possesses incredible size, speed, athleticism, and smarts at 6-5, 220 and with 4.5 speed. He had heart surgery and transferred from Georgia Tech a couple of years ago and really performed well for Richmond this year. He contributes immediately on special teams and takes Wendling's role there while also competing for playing time at safety.

7) Aaron Mellette, WR – Elon – Mellette is another small-school prospect who possesses the size, speed, agility, and hands to be able to, in my opinion, at least be a solid backup at the next level. The Lions bolster their receiving core here with Titus Young's departure.

Rookie allocation: $5 million
Team number: $130.95 million

Release:
Dominic Raiola, C: save $4.3 million
Team number: $125.6 million


Restructure:
Nate Burleson, WR: save $2.7 million
Team number: $123.9 million

Sign:
Corey Hilliard, OT: 1 yr, $1 million
Dylan Gandy, G: 1 yr, $1m
Team number: $125.9 million

My projection for the cap is somewhere around $128 million. Lions could probably get more done in the way of restructuring if the cap is less than that and it comes down to it (a portion of Suh’s salary).

Depth Chart: Offense
QB: Matthew Stafford/Shaun Hill/Kellen Moore
RB: Mikel LeShoure/Joique Bell/Ray Graham/Jahvid Best (IR)
WR: Calvin Johnson/Ryan Broyles/Kris Durham

LT: Riley Reiff/Corey Hilliard
LG: Rob Sims/Dylan Gandy
C: Barrett Jones/Bill Nagy/Dylan Gandy
RG: Andy Levitre/Bill Nagy/Dylan Gandy
RT: Gosder Cherilus/Jason Fox
TE: Jared Cook/Tony Scheffler/Zach Sudfeld

WR: Nate Burleson/Mike Thomas/Patrick Edwards/Aaron Mellette
Total active players: 25

Depth Chart: Defense
DE: Bjoern Werner/Willie Young/Margus Hunt
DT: Nick Fairley/Corey Williams
DT: Ndamukong Suh/Sammie Hill
DE: Cliff Avril/Ronnell Lewis

OLB: DeAndre Levy/Ashlee Palmer
MLB: Stephen Tulloch/Travis Lewis
OLB: Justin Durant/Tahir Whitehead

CB: Sean Smith/Bill Bentley/Chris Greenwood
S: Louis Delmas/Shamarko Thomas
S: Ricardo Silva/Jahleel Addae/Cooper Taylor
CB: Chris Houston/Jonte Green
Total active players: 25

Depth Chart: Special Teams
K: Jason Hanson
P: Patrick Murray
LS: Don Muhlbach
KR/PR: Mike Thomas/Patrick Edwards
Total additional players: 3