Jack Campbell Did Not Push To Reset LB Market
Jack Campbell earned a first-team All-Pro selection in 2025, cementing his status as one of the best linebackers in football. His new four-year, $81MM contract rewarded him accordingly, though his $20.25MM AAV still trails Fred Warner, who makes $21MM per year.
At 25 years old, Campbell certainly had a case to surpass the 49ers veteran. Though the Lions declined his $21.9MM fifth-year option (for the 2027 season), the former first-round pick could have driven a hard bargain and at least eclipsed Warner’s annual pay. But that was not his priority.
“I feel like for me I don’t need to be the highest paid,” Campbell said before apologizing to other players at his position who would have benefitted from a market reset. The linebacker market has barely moved in the last few years – in fact, in terms of percentage of salary cap, teams are paying linebackers less.
A transformative market update often requires a young, elite player to push for a record-breaking sum on his second contract. Campbell fit the bill, and beyond him, there may not be another chance until 2025 second-rounder and Defensive Rookie of the Year Carson Schwesinger is extension-eligible…in 2028.
“But I just feel like for me I knew what I wanted in this,” Campbell added (via Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press). “I want to help the team in any ways possible just to continue to keep the core together. So I mean, at the end of the day I feel like it was fair for the team and I’m more than happy with everything that they’ve blessed me with.”
Among Campbell’s blessings are an $8.6MM signing bonus and fully guaranteed salaries in 2026 and 2027, worth $2.4MM. His $11.89MM option bonus due next year is also guaranteed, per OverTheCap. Campbell also is eligible for $100k workout bonuses in each of the next four offseasons.
Overall, though, Campbell’s contract is exceedingly team-friendly. He will only receive $22.9MM over the first two years of the deal with no guaranteed money past 2027. His option bonuses – worth $18.85MM in 2028, $5MM in 2029, and $15.4MM in 2030 – are essentially team options. Theoretically, Detroit could get out of the deal and pay Campbell $43.05MM through three years or $63.5MM through four. Both resulting AAVs are far below the annual $20.25MM sticker price of his deal.
With that structure in mind, it certainly seems that Campbell could have pushed for a better deal, whether that meant a market-setting AAV for linebackers or a more advantageous payment structure. It remains to be seen if fellow 2023 first-rounder Jahmyr Gibbs will be willing to take a similarly team-friendly deal, or if he will aim higher for a reset of the running back market.
Lions Extend LB Jack Campbell
11:20pm: Campbell and the Lions agreed to a four-year deal worth $81MM, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport. The deal includes $51.5MM in guaranteed money.
With the deal coming in at a $20.25MM average annual value, Campbell will slide right behind Warner ($21MM) and right ahead of Smith ($20MM) on the list of the highest AAVs among linebackers.
12:55pm: Extension talks between the Lions and Jack Campbell have produced an agreement. The All-Pro linebacker announced on Thursday that he has signed a new deal with Detroit.
The Lions recently declined Campbell’s fifth-year option, but an extension remained the team’s goal in this case. The Lions have since confirmed today’s news of a long-term pact being finalized. Campbell will remain on the books through 2030 as a result of this deal.
This marks the first Lions action with regards to one of their impact 2023 draftees. The team came away with Campbell, Jahmyr Gibbs, Sam LaPorta and Brian Branch in the first two rounds of the ’23 draft. The team exercised Gibbs’ fifth-year option, buying more time on that front, but off-ball linebacker options are annually declined. Detroit followed suit, but this move differentiates the Lions, as several teams have lost first-round ILBs in free agency after declining an option.
Since the Buccaneers exercised Devin White‘s option in 2022, no team has picked up a non-rush linebacker’s. This has led to subsequent free agency defections from Patrick Queen, Jordyn Brooks, Quay Walker and Devin Lloyd over the past three offseasons. Lloyd and Walker respectively left Jacksonville and Green Bay in March. The Lions’ proactivity with Campbell — whose option, thanks to the NFL grouping rush and non-rush ‘backers together in the option formula, checked in at $21.93MM — will bring a course change at this position and ensure a 2025 All-Pro talent remains in place with the team that selected him.
Detroit drew criticism coming out of the 2023 first round, as both picks went to players at non-premium positions. But Gibbs has become one of the NFL’s most electric running backs; Campbell made 2025 a breakout season. The Iowa product, chosen 18th overall in 2023, zoomed to first-team All-Pro acclaim after finishing the season with 176 tackles, five sacks, three forced fumbles and nine tackles for loss. Campbell is the first player to record 160-plus tackles and five-plus sacks in a season in more than 20 years.
He became the first Lions linebacker to claim first-team All-Pro honors since Chris Spielman‘s 1991 season. Because of Campbell’s original-ballot Pro Bowl nod, his option number increased to nearly $22MM.
Campbell, 25, has never missed a game as a pro. This ironman run proved tremendously beneficial for the Lions in 2024, when their 15-2 squad lost several defenders — including linebackers Alex Anzalone, Derrick Barnes and Malcolm Rodriguez — to major injuries. The Lions re-signed Barnes to a three-year, $24MM deal in 2025 but let Anzalone play out his contract. The longtime starter joined the Bucs in free agency. Rodriguez re-signed with the Lions (one year, $2.75MM) in March.
Although the Lions could not negotiate with Campbell on a new deal until January, a re-up has been on the team’s radar for a while. We heard in November a likelihood the team would act here, and steady buzz has built in the months since. GM Brad Holmes called Campbell, Gibbs, LaPorta and Branch priorities in January, and the team has now taken care of one key contractual matter. It would surprise if a Gibbs payday does not follow suit, potentially leaving the Lions with a LaPorta-or-Branch decision. Holmes, however, has done well to extend core players drafted during his tenure.
This Campbell extension follows the deals given to Penei Sewell, Amon-Ra St. Brown, Alim McNeill, Kerby Joseph, Jameson Williams and Aidan Hutchinson. With Jared Goff also extended, the top of the Lions’ payroll is becoming a bit crowded. Considering the struggles the franchise endured in the period prior to Holmes’ arrival, this represents a good problem to have.
The NFL only features two off-ball linebackers on $20MM-per-year deals — All-Pros Fred Warner and Roquan Smith — while Azeez Al-Shaair ($18MM AAV) and Zack Baun ($17MM) are the only ILBs north of $15MM per annum. This is a good time to pay an inside ‘backer, with the market stagnating during the 2020s. Al-Shaair’s extension earlier this year could certainly be relevant for Campbell, and it would surprise if the ascending player did not join this group as a top-five salary player at the position.
Adam La Rose contributed to this post.
2027 NFL Fifth-Year Option Tracker
May 1 marked the deadline for teams to decide on fifth-year options on 2023 first-rounders. The 2020 CBA revamped the option structure and made them fully guaranteed, rather than guaranteed for injury only. Meanwhile, fifth-year option salaries are now determined by a blend of performance- and usage-based benchmarks:
- Two-time Pro Bowlers (excluding alternates) will earn the same as their position’s franchise tag
- One-time Pro Bowlers will earn the equivalent of the transition tag
- Players who achieve any of the following will receive the average of the third-20th top salaries at their position:
- At least a 75% snap rate in two of their first three seasons
- A 75% snap average across all three seasons
- At least 50% in each of first three seasons
- Players who do not hit any of those benchmarks will receive the average of the third-25th top salaries at their position
PFR’s Offseason Outlook series examined each of these decisions in-depth. Twenty-two options were exercised this year. Here is how each team with an option decision proceeded with 2023 first-round contracts:
- QB Bryce Young, Panthers ($25.9MM): Exercised
- QB C.J. Stroud, Texans ($25.9MM): Exercised
- DE Will Anderson Jr., Texans ($21.51MM): Exercised
- QB Anthony Richardson, Colts ($22.48MM): Declined
- CB Devon Witherspoon, Seahawks ($21.16MM): Exercised
- LT Paris Johnson Jr., Cardinals ($19.07MM): Exercised
- DE Tyree Wilson, Saints ($14.48MM): Declined
- RB Bijan Robinson, Falcons ($11.32MM): Exercised
- DT Jalen Carter, Eagles ($27.13MM): Exercised
- RT Darnell Wright, Bears ($19.07MM): Exercised
- G Peter Skoronski, Titans ($19.07MM): Exercised
- RB Jahmyr Gibbs, Lions ($14.29MM): Exercised
- LB Lukas Van Ness, Packers ($13.75MM): Exercised
- LT Broderick Jones, Steelers ($19.07MM): Declined
- DE Will McDonald, Jets ($13.75MM): Exercised
- CB Emmanuel Forbes, Rams ($12.63MM): Declined
- CB Christian Gonzalez, Patriots ($18.12MM): Exercised
- LB Jack Campbell, Lions ($21.93MM): Declined
- DL Calijah Kancey, Buccaneers ($14.48MM): Exercised
- WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Seahawks ($23.85MM): Exercised
- WR Quentin Johnston, Chargers ($18MM): Exercised
- WR Zay Flowers, Ravens ($27.3MM): Exercised
- WR Jordan Addison, Vikings ($18MM): Exercised
- CB Deonte Banks, Giants ($12.63MM): Declined
- TE Dalton Kincaid, Bills ($8.16MM): Exercised
- DT Mazi Smith, Jets ($13.93MM): Declined
- RT Anton Harrison, Jaguars ($19.07MM): Exercised
- DE Myles Murphy, Bengals ($14.48MM): Declined
- DT Bryan Bresee, Saints ($13.93MM): Exercised
- LB Nolan Smith, Eagles ($13.75MM): Exercised
- DE Felix Anudike-Uzomah, Chiefs ($14.48MM): Declined
Lions To Exercise Jahmyr Gibbs’ Fifth-Year Option, Decline Jack Campbell’s
The Lions picked twice in the first round of the 2023 NFL Draft, meaning they have a pair of fifth-year option decisions to make by May 1. The team plans to exercise running back Jahmyr Gibbs‘ option, but it will decline linebacker Jack Campbell‘s, Dan Miller of Fox2 Detroit reports.
Gibbs and Campbell have turned into stars at their respective positions since entering the league. However, saying yes to Gibbs’ option was much more of a slam-dunk choice for Detroit. The former 12th overall pick will lock in a 2027 salary of $14.29MM salary, which is reasonable for an elite back who has already earned three Pro Bowl nods.
The dual-threat Gibbs has found the end zone a whopping 49 times (39 rushing, 10 receiving) in as many games. A two-time 1,200-yard rusher, Gibbs has averaged a robust 5.3 YPC on 675 attempts. Gibbs is also fresh off a 77-catch season, easily surpassing the respectable 52 he totaled in each of his first two years.
Campbell came off the board 18th overall, six picks after Gibbs, and has evolved into a high-level off-linebacker. Unfortunately for Campbell, though, the NFL continues to group off-ball LBs and pass-rushing LBs together for valuation purposes. Teams do not value them equally, evidenced by the fact that no club has picked up an off-ball LB’s option since the Buccaneers did it for Devin White in 2022. The Lions will not snap the four-year streak despite Campbell’s successful development.
A former Iowa standout, Campbell has not missed a game in three seasons. Campbell thrived in a career year in 2025, during which he set personal bests in tackles (176), TFL (nine), sacks (five) and forced fumbles (three) en route to his first Pro Bowl selection and All-Pro honors. The original-ballot Pro Bowl bid upped the value of his option to $21.93MM, which the Lions deemed too rich. The 49ers’ Fred Warner and the Ravens’ Roquan Smith are the only off-LBs making at least $20MM per year.
While the Lions are not yet guaranteed to keep Campbell around beyond next season, there is optimism a long-term agreement will come together. He is “absolutely” in the Lions’ plans, per Miller. For now, Campbell, tight end Sam LaPorta and safety Brian Branch are among Lions core players who are due to reach free agency next year.
The Lions will keep Gibbs around for a minimum of two more seasons, but they could still try to hammer out an extension after picking up his option. A new Gibbs pact would “easily” check in at over $15MM per year, according to Jonathan Jones of CBS Sports. Only three backs – the Eagles’ Saquon Barkley ($20.6MM), the 49ers’ Christian McCaffrey ($19MM) and the Ravens’ Derrick Henry ($15MM) – are averaging that much money per annum. The 24-year-old Gibbs may join them soon.
Mutual Extension Interest Between Lions, LB Jack Campbell
The deadline for fifth-year option decisions is approaching, and the Lions are among the teams with an interesting call still to be made. Linebacker Jack Campbell‘s short-term future is unclear leading up to May 1.
Campbell is coming off a first-team All-Pro season, and he will be expected to remain a foundational presence for Detroit well into the future provided a long-term deal can be arranged. All linebackers are grouped together for the purposes of fifth-year options and franchise/transition tags, however, which make them highly expensive for situations such as this one. Picking up Campbell’s option would tie him to a 2027 salary of $21.93MM. Only two middle linebackers are currently attached to an AAV of $20MM or more.
A lucrative commitment to Campbell would be inevitable in the event of a long-term deal, but his option salary would be fully guaranteed and match his cap charge for 2027. That, in turn, would complicate the Lions’ efforts to keep the rest of their highly-productive 2023 draftees in the fold. Running back Jahmyr Gibbs, safety Brian Branch and tight end Sam LaPorta are each in line for big-money deals from Detroit or another team in the near future.
Picking up Campbell’s option is an expected move on the part of the Lions. The alternative, of course, is an extension agreement being finalized prior to Friday’s deadline. On that note, CBS Sports’ Jonathan Jones reports (video link) both team and player would be “happy” with a long-term deal being worked out in the coming days. It will be interesting to see how general manager Brad Holmes and Co. proceed in the immediate future with an important decision looming.
The Lions already have a highly-paid core of (primarily) homegrown players, many of whom are on the offensive side of the ball. Campbell has established himself as an integral figure as well, though, playing in every game to date during his career and filling the statsheet along the way. The Iowa product set new career highs in tackles (176), sacks (five) and forced fumbles (three) in 2025. Campbell will be 26 by the start of next season, and expectations will remain high in his case for years to come.
Detroit allowed Alex Anzalone to depart in free agency this spring. Derrick Barnes is in place on an $8MM-per-year deal which runs through 2027, while Malcolm Rodriguez and Damone Clark offer inexpensive depth at the linebacker spot. Campbell will be counted on to lead the way at that position for at least one more season, and short-term stability through his option being exercised would come as little surprise. Nonetheless, a long-term pact will be something to watch for over the coming days.
Lions Hope To Extend LB Jack Campbell; Fifth-Year Option In Play
The NFL continues to group all linebackers together for valuation purposes, which has typically led to teams turning down fifth-year options for off-ball LBs. No team has exercised the fifth-year option at the position since the Buccaneers did so for Devin White in 2022. That may change in the next two-plus weeks.
[RELATED: Fifth-Year Option Tracker]
The Lions have until May 1 to make a decision on Jack Campbell‘s option. Unless an extension comes to fruition by then, the team is “certain to exercise” it, Justin Rogers of Detroit Football Network reports.
Armed with two first-round picks in the 2023 draft, Lions general manager Brad Holmes used the selections on a pair of non-premium positions. Before choosing Campbell 18th overall, he took running back Jahmyr Gibbs at No. 12. Campbell, Gibbs and second-rounders Sam LaPorta and Brian Branch have turned into excellent NFLers. All are now eligible for extensions, but keeping each of them from hitting free agency in a year may be a challenge for Holmes.
The Lions would like to get something done with Campbell by the end of April. Otherwise, they will be at risk of paying him a bloated $21.93MM on his fifth-year option salary in 2027. He would go by 49ers future Hall of Famer Fred Warner, whose average annual salary of $21MM paces the position. The worth of Campbell’s option escalated as a result of the Pro Bowl nod he earned last season. The former Iowa standout was also a first-team All-Pro in 2025. Campbell, who has never missed a game, put together his second straight 17-start campaign and notched career highs in tackles (176), TFL (nine), sacks (five) and forced fumbles (three). The 25-year-old finished behind one player, Warner, in Pro Football Focus’ off-ball LB rankings.
Warner inked his three-year, $63MM extension last May, at which point he was coming off his fourth first-team All-Pro showing. In addition to leading his position in AAV, he tops it in total value. Warner checks in second in guarantees ($56.7MM), trailing the Ravens’ Roquan Smith ($60MM). Warner, Smith, the Eagles’ Zack Baun, the Chiefs’ Nick Bolton and the Jets’ Jamien Sherwood are the only off-ball LBs earning at least $15MM per annum on multiyear pacts. Campbell has a strong argument to join the group in the next couple of weeks, especially with the cap on the rise and the value of his option providing him leverage.
Lions Notes: Branch, Campbell, Gibbs, LaPorta, Decker, Glasgow, Anzalone
Although the Lions went 9-8 and missed the playoffs, they have a champagne problem approaching on their roster. The 2023 draft produced four impact starters, delivering Jahmyr Gibbs, Jack Campbell, Sam LaPorta and Brian Branch. All are now extension-eligible, with Gibbs and Campbell having fifth-year options that could move their contracts through 2027. Brad Holmes views all four as priorities.
“When me and Dan (Campbell} first started we said we’re going to take the path of draft, develop and sign our own, and I do think that, that has worked so far in terms of getting us to this point,” the sixth-year GM said (via the Detroit Free Press’ Dave Birkett), specifying Branch and LaPorta’s injuries do not affect their long-term statuses. “So yeah, those guys are priorities because they’re really good players. They represent everything that we’re about. So yeah, I would say that those are all priorities.”
Our Adam La Rose tackled this issue in a recent mailbag, and while it might be unrealistic for the Lions to retain all four, Holmes voicing support for it is interesting given the commitments the team has already made to core performers. The Lions have extended Amon-Ra St. Brown, Penei Sewell, Jared Goff, Taylor Decker, Alim McNeill, Jameson Williams and Aidan Hutchinson since April 2024. Gibbs has come up as a 2026 extension candidate, while Branch is unlikely to be paid in the offseason due to his December Achilles tear. Jack Campbell’s case is trickier due to no off-ball LB’s option being exercised since the Buccaneers’ Devin White move in 2022, but Campbell being a first-team All-Pro may change the equation. Otherwise, he would join Branch and LaPorta as contract-year players in 2026.
Here is the latest out of Detroit:
- Taylor Decker is planning to take multiple months to consider playing an 11th season. We heard in December Decker was considering retirement. The 10-year Lions left tackle played through a shoulder injury all season. “I need to make informed decisions,” Decker said, via Birkett. “I need to get second opinions. There’s a lot that I have to do, because I want to make this decision moving forward informed. And I don’t want to make it emotionally because if I make it emotionally, I already know what the answer is going to be.” Decker, who missed three games this season, is signed through 2027 via the three-year, $60MM deal he inked in 2024. The 32-year-old blocker has started 140 games, being part of a few top-tier Lions O-lines.
- Graham Glasgow and Dan Skipper are also considering walking away, according to Birkett. A back injury has prompted Skipper, 31, to consider retiring after nine NFL seasons. Sixty-six of the backup tackle’s 69 career games have come with Detroit. Glasgow could retire, per Birkett, if the Lions ditch his contract. Glasgow, who returned to Detroit in 2023 and succeeded Frank Ragnow at center this season, is due a nonguaranteed $6.5MM in the final year of his three-year, $20MM contract.
- Ragnow returned to the news cycle briefly in preparing to unretire, but a failed physical nixed that. The Lions did not go into last year’s draft knowing their All-Pro center would walk away, Holmes said (via ESPN.com’s Eric Woodyard). While Holmes acknowledged the team knew a Ragnow retirement was in play, he did not let the team know until May. Ragnow, 29, is expected to remain retired.
- LaPorta’s third season ended after Week 10 due to back surgery, but the extension candidate said (via Woodyard) he is aiming to be ready for OTAs. While Dan Campbell yanked the play sheet from OC John Morton before eventually firing him, LaPorta was on pace for his best season during the one-and-done OC’s time calling the shots. LaPorta averaged a career-best 54.3 yards per game in 2025.
- The Lions want to re-sign Alex Anzalone, according to ESPN.com’s Jeremy Fowler, but the veteran linebacker returning is being pegged as a 50-50 proposition. With a Campbell extension perhaps in the offing and the Lions having given Derrick Barnes a three-year, $24MM deal (which calls for $8MM guaranteed in 2026), money might be too tight to give Anzalone another deal. The ex-Saints draftee has been with the Lions throughout Campbell and Holmes’ five-year stays. An extension for Anzalone, 32, did not come up for the Lions last year.
Lions Have Not Had Contract Talks With Impending Defensive Free Agents
After securing the NFC’s No. 1 seed last year, the Lions will not qualify for the postseason in 2025. One of the reasons for the disappointing campaign is a defense that is currently in the bottom-10 in the NFL in terms of points allowed, and since the Lions have 17 defensive players eligible for unrestricted free agency in the upcoming offseason, they have a chance to reset and reconfigure.
Of course, not every defender has underperformed, and it stands to reason that Detroit will want to retain some of them. DE Al-Quadin Muhammad, for instance, has been an unexpected bright spot for defensive coordinator Kelvin Sheppard’s unit. After re-upping with the Lions via a modest one-year pact in March, Muhammad has achieved career-highs with 58 quarterback pressures and 11 sacks, thereby setting himself up for a nice raise.
However, Muhammad will turn 31 in March. His belated breakout, journeyman status, and the fact that most of his damage has been done in subpackages will prevent his next contract from breaking the bank, per Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press. Muhammad acknowledges that he and the team have not discussed an extension, though he would understandably welcome a new deal keeping him with the Lions.
Like Muhammad and all of the Lions’ other pending FAs on the defensive side of the ball, linebacker Alex Anzalone has not had in-season dialogue with Detroit brass about a new deal. The 31-year-old expressed disappointment with his contract situation over the summer, and while the Lions did not extend him, they gave him a $250K raise and added another $750K of incentives.
Anzalone has justified that minor contractual adjustment by playing in 96% of the Lions’ defensive snaps, recording 95 tackles, and proving himself as the team’s best coverage ‘backer. Birkett confirms prior reports suggesting the Lions will pursue an offseason extension for 2023 first-rounder Jack Campbell, and the team already authorized a three-year, $25.5MM deal for Derrick Barnes in March (which includes $7.5MM in 2026 guarantees). Even though most teams do not have three linebackers on notable deals, Birkett believes the Lions could make an exception for Anzalone, who says his prior dispute has not dissuaded him from remaining with the club.
After giving DE Marcus Davenport consecutive one-year contracts in the hopes that he would serve as an effective piece of their pass-rushing contingent, the Lions seem unlikely to bring him back in 2026, as Birkett suggests. Detroit appreciates Davenport’s efforts to overcome his injury woes, but he has been limited to nine games and 1.5 sacks over his two years in the Motor City.
Unlike Davenport, cornerback Amik Robertson has more than lived up to his contract, a two-year, $9.25MM deal he signed in 2024, by displaying versatility and durability over the 2024-25 campaigns. While he does not explicitly say so, Birkett implies Detroit will be interested in a new deal for Robertson, as the club will need depth and experience at the CB position.
Defensive tackles D.J. Reader and Roy Lopez are also eligible for free agency, and if the Lions have to choose between the two, Birkett thinks they will pick Lopez. Although he has played fewer snaps than Reader and fellow DTs Alim McNeill and Tyleik Williams, Lopez has been the most effective of the bunch. The 28-year-old is also three years younger than Reader and, in Birkett’s view, should not cost much more than the $3.5MM he earned in 2025.
Lions To Continue Exploring Extensions For Core Talent
The Lions recently authorized a record-setting extension for defensive end Aidan Hutchinson. In addition to keeping one of the league’s best pass rushers in the fold for the foreseeable future, the deal also created some cap clarity as Detroit pursues second contracts with other members of its core.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter hears the Lions intend to retain as many of their remaining rookie-contract players as possible, which is not surprising considering how GM Brad Holmes has operated. Over the past two years, Holmes has entered into notable extensions with players like QB Jared Goff, WRs Amon-Ra St. Brown and Jameson Williams, RB David Montgomery, OTs Penei Sewell and Taylor Decker, S Kerby Joseph, and DT Alim McNeill, handing out nearly $1 billion in the process.
The expectation is that Holmes will continue his efforts to keep the band together, efforts that will now include 2023 draftees like RB Jahmyr Gibbs, LB Jack Campbell, TE Sam LaPorta, and S Brian Branch. All four of those players will be eligible for new deals after the season.
We had already heard that Holmes is looking ahead to a second contract for Gibbs, and we suggested at the time that the other three members of that talented quartet of draftmates could also be part of the GM’s agenda in the near future. Schefter highlights Gibbs’ case as particularly interesting.
As Schefter notes, the Lions can keep Gibbs (like Campbell) under club control through 2027 by virtue of the fifth-year option and could utilize franchise tags to extend the relationship beyond that. Plus, as a running back, Gibbs’ price under the option and tag will be fairly reasonable, especially considering his talent and importance to the team.
Despite that, and despite the fact that clubs have been reluctant to green-light extensions for RBs too early, Schefter confirms Holmes will consider one for his Pro Bowl back. Assuming he does, Gibbs could take aim at the top of his position’s market, which is presently topped by Saquon Barkley’s $20.6MM AAV and $36MM in full guarantees.
Still, Holmes could have a little more urgency with respect to LaPorta and Branch since they are not eligible for fifth-year options and could become free agents after the 2026 campaign. The tight end market has not exploded like the market for some other positions, so LaPorta may be relatively affordable, whereas Schefter says Branch could become one of the NFL’s highest-paid safeties (there are now three safeties earning at least $21MM per year, while no tight end has hit the $20MM threshold).
As an inside linebacker, Campbell’s second contract should also be manageable. Given all of Holmes’ other completed and prospective commitments, he may need to make some difficult choices in the near future, but for now, the plan is to keep the Lions’ full championship-caliber foundation intact.
Lions LB Jack Campbell Expected To See Increased Workload; Team Eyeing Hybrid Role For Derrick Barnes
The Lions made Jack Campbell the first inside linebacker to come off the board in last year’s draft. The No. 18 pick did not, however, enter his rookie season with a starting defensive role in hand.
Veteran Alex Anzalone enjoyed a career year in 2023, racking up 129 tackles and three sacks. Derrick Barnes, meanwhile, saw time at inside linebacker but also on the outside. Campbell had a notable role in the group with a 59% defensive snap share, but a larger workload should be coming his way in 2024.
The 23-year-old is expected to take on a Day 1 starting spot this season, as noted by team reporter Tim Twentyman. Campbell wound up making 12 starts in the regular season (along with two more during the Lions’ run to the NFC title game), but a full-time spot alongside Anzalone would represent an uptick in usage. He amassed 95 tackles and a pair of sacks as a rookie, although his play in pass coverage leaves plenty of room for improvement.
Campbell allowed a completion on 25 of 31 targets last season, surrendering a passer rating of 128.2 and a pair of touchdowns as the nearest defender. Developing in that regard would allow the Iowa product to earn further trust from Detroit’s coaching staff. The likes of Jalen Reeves-Maybin and Malcolm Rodriguez are also still in the fold for Detroit, though, and they could take on third-down responsibilities in Campbell’s place if need be.
Twentyman also notes Barnes saw reps at both inside and outside linebacker this spring, meaning he could continue to be used in a variety of ways moving forward. The 2021 fourth-rounder saw time in a rotational capacity during his first two seasons, but in 2023 he logged a 68% snap share. Barnes translated that into 81 tackles and eight pressures, and Campbell settling into an every-down role on the inside could allow him to further expand his versatility.
The Lions ranked second against the run last season, and with considerable continuity in the linebacking core a repeat of that showing should be expected in 2024. Campbell and Barnes are each positioned to play a notable role in that effort, and their showings during training camp will be worth watching closely.