Jahmyr Gibbs remains one of the bigger storylines to follow for the Detroit Lions this offseason. The star running back has yet to sign his extension with the team, although you get the sense that both sides are going to come to an agreement on one ahead of the 2026 season.
The team did pick up his fifth-year option earlier this summer, so he's with the team through at least 2028 if they decide, shockingly, to just let him play out the rest of his deal.
But, it's clear that Gibbs has played himself into a potentially market-resetting deal. And, that's probably why Bleacher Report's Brent Sobleski has this deal as one of three major tasks left for the Lions to get done prior to the season kicking off. The other two: "settling" the offensive line, and landing another safety.
Lions tasked with 3 action items from Bleacher Report - but 2 feel completed
While it's true that the Lions' safety room is compromised to start the year, with both Kerby Joseph and Brian Branch recovering from lower body injuries, they did shore up their depth at that position in free agency. Christian Izien and Chuck Clark both came over to the team this offseason, and they've been getting starting snaps in OTAs and minicamp.
As for the offensive line, that also feels pretty much done. Penei Sewell is the teams' new left tackle. Their right tackle competition is between rookie Blake Miller and veteran Larry Borom, both solid-enough options. Although, to Sobleski's point, a shaky line could mean a bad start for Jared Goff and the Lions' offense, so this is probably their most important room to get right.
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Their center room is now led by Cade Mays, who is a huge improvement upon Graham Glasgow in 2026. Their left guard room is also an open competition, which should only help all players at that position improve as they're pushed to be their best.
So, it is basically just a matter of extending Gibbs for Detroit. Bijan Robinson, another top running back from Gibbs' draft year, is also due for an extension from the Atlanta Falcons. Whatever number he gets will be very similar to whatever Gibbs gets, which is why it does feel important for the Lions to get that squared away before they have to really blow Gibbs out of the water in order to break Robinson's deal.
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