The Detroit Lions recently elected to pick up the fifth-year team option on star running back Jahmyr Gibbs’ rookie deal, but the same won’t be said for linebacker Jack Campbell.
The option will pay Gibbs $14.3 million, which is fully guaranteed for 2027 before he will become an unrestricted free agent unless, of course, the Detroit Lions work out a long-term contract before he’s able to hit the open market in the same way they’ve done with many of their own draft picks under the Brad Holmes regime.
I wouldn’t draw too many conclusions on the Campbell news, though. Campbell would be due nearly $22 million in fully guaranteed money, which would make him the highest-paid player at his position if his fifth-year option had been picked up, and that is well beyond market value for an off-ball linebacker.
So, off-ball linebackers are grouped in the same pay scale or bracket as edge rushers and on-ball linebackers, and that’s why Campbell’s number would be so high. In comparison, the highest-paid off-ball linebacker in football is San Francisco 49ers captain Fred Warner at $21 million annually.
As much as I like and respect Campbell and his overall development, particularly last season, he’s not to Warner’s level yet; not many are or will be.
For those unaware of how this works. The price of a player's fifth-year options is determined by his draft slot, the position he plays, and the number of Pro Bowls and All-Pro honors that player has received in his first three seasons. After making his first Pro Bowl last season, Campbell became eligible for a salary equal to the transition tender.
If Campbell didn’t make the Pro Bowl last season, his salary slot would be somewhere around $15 million, which is exactly in the neighborhood where I’d view his salary on a long-term contract extension.
Now, I’d bet negotiations between the Detroit Lions and Campbell’s camp on a long-term contract will fall around the $17-19 million range on an annual basis. That, as we’ve spoken about in the past, will have a ripple effect on the rest of the roster.
Specifically, it can impact a player like Sam LaPorta or even Brian Branch, who are both due a contract extensions this summer. But, they may find themselves looking for real estate elsewhere next summer as the Lions will come to a point very soon where they simply won’t be able to pay everyone. That will lead to some extremely tough discussions among the management team.
Lions star linebackerJack Campbell, is quickly developing into a franchise player
Campbell started 17 games in each of the past two seasons and is coming off a career year, having totaled five sacks, 17 pressures, and a staggering 176 combined tackles (89 solo) in 2025. He added four pass deflections, three forced fumbles, two of which he recovered. This is on the heels of a robust 2024 season where he racked up 131 tackles to pair with 1.5 sacks.
According to Pro Football Focus, Campbell earned an overall grade of 90.2 (second among 88 qualified linebackers), a coverage grade of 71.4 (12th), and a run-defense grade of 93.0, the best at his position.
Campbell’s play isn’t just generating the interest of Lions fans, but also additional NFL markets. Recently, under the FanSided umbrella, Levi Dombro, of The Landry Hat, pinned Jack Campbell as the perfect free agent target of the Dallas Cowboys next summer if he happened to hit the open market.
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Dombro points out that Campbell may want long-term security, and if the Lions are unable to provide it, Dallas should. I agree with that assessment, but snicker at the notion that Holmes and head coach Dan Campbell would allow Campbell to even sniff the open market after turning the keys to the defense over to him just a year ago, and allowing his veteran running mate Alex Anzalone to leave in free agency this past winter.
I have little to no doubt that Campbell is in Detroit’s future plans, and I’d expect a contract extension to be in place before the start of this season because that’s how this regime tends to operate, but if the injuries to Kerby Joseph and Alim McNeill have taught us anything, there shouldn’t be any real urgency to do so until next winter.
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