The day before the NFL Draft in Detroit, the Lions signed wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown and offensive tackle Penei Sewell to big contract extensions. Then, in the gap week between rookie minicamp and the next phase of OTAs, quarterback Jared Goff got his big contract extension.
The core of Brad Holmes' roster building plan is develop then reward the Lions' own players. They team will willingly pay the financial piper for their core players who prove worthy of such investments, and more of those looming pay days are coming as Holmes hits the mark in the draft over and over again. And not everyone was or will be pretty much instantly good like St. Brown and Sewell were as rookies in 2021.
It's worth looking at who might be next up for a contract extension from the Lions. Presented somewhat chronologically, but also with an eye on who will be prioritized, here are five players who are next up for a contract extension.
5 Detroit Lions players who are next in line for a contract extension
5. S Ifeatu Melifonwu
Injuries have been a definite thing for Melifonwu over his first three NFL season, including a hand issue that limited him to strictly special teams duty for a stretch last season. But once he was healthy enough to replace Tracy Walker in the starting lineup, from there (Week 14) through the Divisional Round of the playoffs he was Pro Football Focus' seventh-highest graded safety (80.3 overall grade). From Week 14-the NFC Championship Game, he had five sacks, 42 total tackles, four tackles for loss, two interceptions, seven pass breakups, eight quarterback hits and a 79.1 overall grade from Pro Football Focus.
Melifonwu is entering the final year of his rookie contract. If he can do what he did late last season over the course of a full, healthy season this year, or even somewhere close to it, he'll be sticking around in Detroit for a few more years.