Detroit Lions are reportedly releasing Tracy Walker as the safety sends a heartfelt goodbye message to the city of Detroit, fans, and the Ford family.
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It’s always a dangerous game to read too much into vague social media posts, but given the circumstances, it certainly seems like veteran safety Tracy Walker has seen his last few days as a member of the Detroit Lions.
On Tuesday, Walker had a lengthy Instagram post thanking everyone involved for his six years with the team. It read as follows:
“Detroit I want to thank you for welcoming me in as rookie and accepting me as family.. I want to thank the Ford family for giving me the opportunity to be apart of something special over these last 6 years. I want to thank my fans and supporters for always having my back through it all. I want to thank the city for holding down for me. It was many ups and downs but that’s life and life is 10% what happens to you, 90% how you respond. With that being the future is bright and TTIME is coming harder than ever for Year7.!! GOD BLESS TTIME⏰ OUT”
On its own, this wouldn’t necessarily read as a farewell. However, Walker’s release has been anticipated by most. Last year, Walker fell down the depth chart to the point where he was a gameday inactive for all three of Detroit’s playoff games. With Walker due a significant raise in 2024 that would count, in total, for over $12.8 million against the cap, it seems like a foregone conclusion that Walker is getting released. If so, the Lions will create $5.5 million in cap space, but he’ll still be on the books for over $7 million in dead cap.
UPDATE: Per both ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, and Detroit Free Press’ Dave Birkett, Walker is getting released.
Walker was a third-round pick for Detroit back in 2018. If this is indeed the end of Walker’s career in Detroit, he’ll finish his Lions career with 79 games (43 starts), 398 tackles, 23 passes defended, and three interceptions.