The Detroit Lions are expected to continue to extend their own players after getting a deal with Jack Campbell done this offseason. However, the question is who comes next? Dan Graziano of ESPN notes that the biggest question for the Lions between now and training camp is who gets extended between Jahmy Gibbs, Brian Branch, and Sam LaPorta, and in what order do the deals get done?
Campbell joined these three as the top four picks that Detroit made in the 2022 NFL draft. The plan is always to draft, develop, and extend your own, but it gets tougher when you hit on every pick and have a lot of players to extend.
Gibbs has made the Pro Bowl in all three of his NFL seasons and has 3,580 rushing yards to go with 1,449 receiving yards. LaPorta was a second-team All-Pro in his first NFL season, and Branch made the Pro Bowl in 2024 after finishing fifth in the Defensive Rookie of the Year voting in 2023. All of them have cases to be made to be extended. However, there are factors delaying all three of them,
The Detroit Lions Have Varying Factors Impacting Who They Sign This Offseason
GettyDetroit Lions running back Jahmyr Gibbs.
Gibbs is the easiest decision to make. The team is going to extend him, and he is going to set the market for running backs. However, Gibbs’ side might be what is holding things back right now. Gibbs and Bijan Robinson are due contracts at the same time, and Graziano notes that Gibbs and his team might wait for Robinson to set the market, so that Gibbs new deal can slightly beat out Robinson.
Branch is likely the furthest away right now. Branch is coming off an Achilles injury and might not play this year. If he does, it will be late in the season. He is a Swiss Army Knife on defense who plays in the slot and at safety, so it is hard to say exactly who he compares to, salary-wise. This might take some back-and-forth to iron out.
LaPorta is a bit trickier than Gibbs, but does not have all of the lingering questions that Branch does. Still, he has gone from 889 yards to 726, and last year he posted just 489 yards. His 2,104 yards through three years say that he should be the highest-paid tight end, but the lack of progression to get there is going to make things tougher than they typically would.
Lions Have Players Who Can Top the Market at Their Positions
Campbell signed a deal making $20.5M in average annual salary. That was behind only Fred Warner. The other three are expected to be right around Campbell as the highest or second-highest paid player at their position.
At running back, Saquon Barkley currently makes $20.6M per year in AAV. The highest-paid tight end is Trey McBride at $19.1M per year, and then the top safety is Derwin James at $25.2M. Branch might not top James, but all three are looking at $20M or more per year this offseason or they will test the market.
Like HEAVY’s content? Be sure to follow us.
This article was originally published on HEAVY
The post Contract Reality Could Force Detroit Lions Into Difficult Decision appeared first on HEAVY.