NFL Rumors: Lions won’t sign TE Brandon Pettigrew before free agency starts
By Mike Dyce
The Detroit Lions are trying to lock down tight end Brandon Pettigrew with a long-term contract and decided against slapping him with the franchise tag on Monday. They have until Saturday to negotiate a contract exclusively before that deadline and after that they’ll be competing with the rest of the league for his services, and they might be willing to let him do that.
From the Detroit Free Press:
"The Detroit Lions still are working on a long-term deal for Brandon Pettigrew, but if they don’t have one in place by the time their exclusive negotiating window ends Saturday — and as of now, odds are they won’t — they’re comfortable letting their top tight end test free agency."
The Lions have a tight cap situation and hitting him the franchise tag could’ve put them in an even tighter situation with very little wiggle room if they couldn’t have worked out a long-term deal.