The Detroit Lions’ progress towards a Jahmyr Gibbs contract extension may have just run into a hurdle.
It was announced Wednesday night that Miami Dolphins running back De’Von Achane has agreed to a four-year, $68 million extension with the team, with $32 million guaranteed.
The deal will make Achane the third-highest paid running back in the NFL in terms of average per year earnings, behind Saquon Barkley ($20.6 million APY) and Christian McCaffrey ($16 million APY).
Achane has been one of the league’s best running backs since he was drafted in 2023, the same year as Gibbs. Last season, he rushed for a career-high 1,350 yards and eight touchdowns and was named to his first Pro Bowl.
Achane is an elite back, but Gibbs has been even more productive and was picked two rounds higher in the same draft. There’s already been talk that his extension could break the bank for Detroit, and now it seems there’s even more reason to believe that.
Making matters more complicated is the amount of big extensions the Lions have already handed out. Long-term deals have gone to Amon-Ra St. Brown, Jared Goff, Penei Sewell, Aidan Hutchinson, Jameson Williams, Kerby Joseph and Alim McNeill, tying up quite a bit of the team’s cap space.
Plus, the Lions still have to make decisions on fellow 2023 draftees Jack Campbell, Sam LaPorta and Brian Branch.
But Gibbs is an unbelievable player and is as deserving of a long-term deal as anyone on the Lions’ roster. Plus, Detroit traded former backfield mate David Montgomery to Houston, giving Gibbs the go-ahead to take over as Detroit's undisputed lead back. He's more important to the Lions' offense right now than ever before.
The team needs to get this one done, and it seems that they’re aware of that.
Lions must move quickly on Gibbs extension
“He’s a part of our nucleus, he’s a core piece on our football team,” general manager Brad Holmes said about Gibbs back in February. “We want to keep him around for a long time, so we’re already in alignment on that. We’ve just gotta figure out– more dialogue’s gonna get a better sense of what that timeline looks like.”
The Lions recently picked up Gibbs’ fifth-year option, which is worth 14.2 million for the 2027 season and buys them some more time in long-term talks.
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But the Achane extension shows the running back market is moving. Perhaps the only other man who can make a claim alongside Gibbs for best running back in the world, fellow 2023 first-rounder Bijan Robinson, is also on the clock with the Atlanta Falcons. He could get massive money that drives Detroit’s price up even more than the Achane deal, so it’d be wise to reach a deal with Gibbs before the Falcons do with Robinson.
It would be surprising to see the Lions not reach a deal with Gibbs, but that doesn’t make it any less of a priority. Holmes must figure out a way to fit him into the team’s financial future.
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