NFL.com reported Friday the Lions had just hit the "Powerball," receiving an $11.75-million salary-cap credit this week because defensive tackle Shaun Rogers didn't reach a playing-time incentive last season. The league's Web site said the Lions had a "windfall of salary-cap space that they didn't anticipate having" and one of the ways they could use it was on free-agent-to-be Drew Brees, "a quarterback that Detroit is expected to pursue." Lions chief operating officer Tom Lewand called it "an absolute non-story." When the Lions renegotiated Rogers' contract in 2004, signing him to a six-year deal, they took advantage of a nuance in the salary cap system, as teams do. If Rogers had played 95% of the Lions' special-teams plays in 2005, he would have gotten the $11.75 million. That was never going to happen -- Rogers is listed at 340 pounds -- but the clause was included to make some math work within the rules.