As Detroit Lions general manager Brad Holmes prepares for the 2026 NFL Draft, he has big decisions looming for his masterclass 2023 Draft class.
Running back Jahmyr Gibbs, linebacker Jack Campbell, tight end Sam LaPorta, and safety Brian Branch are all due for their very deserving contract extensions. More urgently, Gibbs and Campbell are due to have their fifth-year option picked up.
Speaking with the media on Monday, Holmes said those fifth-year options have yet to be picked up, "but we've had those discussions." Holmes did not elaborate further on how those discussions are progressing, only that they've happened.
Only first-round draft picks, in this case Gibbs and Campbell, have fifth-year options that teams can exercise. After those first-rounders complete their third season, teams will have until May 1 of the following league year to pick up that option. So the Lions have until the end of April to lock up those extensions.
Remaining picks are set at four years without options, so LaPorta and Branch are entering the final year of their deal and will become unrestricted free agents if no extensions are reached. This is why LaPorta has been a popular mock trade candidate, as that's one avenue for the Lions to save some money for other extensions or acquire a player at a bigger position of need.
Both LaPorta and Branch are injured, so it remains to be seen what their extensions look like if they do sign one. What the Lions could do, here, is similar to what they did with EDGE Aidan Hutchinson by waiting until they play again before pulling the trigger on an extension.
The clock is ticking for Holmes and the Lions
The prevailing wisdom is that the Lions will address both fifth-year options before that deadline. They technically don't have to, but it's common practice to do so for great players, especially if an extension is also in the works.
For example, another RB looking to cash in big with an extension, Atlanta Falcons' Bijan Robinson, had his fifth-year option picked up earlier in April. By doing so, the Falcons have more time to negotiate an extension, as opposed to preparing for him to become a free agent and competing in a bidding war with other teams.
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The Falcons are widely expected to reset the RB market once they extend Robinson, likely this offseason. It's why the Lions should extend Gibbs as soon as possible to avoid that asking price skyrocketing based on what Robinson signs. The next step, of course, is picking up Gibbs' option.
The Falcons' picking up Robinson's option already doesn't necessarily mean they're further along in talks than Gibbs and the Lions or that the Lions' talks have gone poorly. Last year, the Lions picked up the options for Hutchinson and wide receiver Jameson Williams on April 25 -- Day Two of the draft. In 2024, the Lions picked up tackle Penei Sewell's option on April 24 -- the day before the draft.
Expect a similar timeline here, regardless of how the talks are progressing.
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