Generally speaking, the Detroit Lions take care of notable contract business before it becomes a protracted issue. General manager Brad Holmes wants to pay everyone who has proven himself worthy of a notable long-term deal, but there are limits to that.
The next men up on the contract agenda for the Lions, in some order, are tight end Sam LaPorta and safety Brian Branch. The latest news, heading into Week 4, said contract talks between the team and LaPorta have stopped.
While that report from NFL Network's Ian Rapoport invites concern, it's also clearly coming from LaPorta's agent. The insinuation then is the Lions aren't meeting LaPorta's asking price, or what a rising tight end market makes him worth.
LaPorta talked to reporters after Wednesday's practice, and his contract situation was a slam-dunk to ask him about. He is of course optimistic about something getting done, while also being unsure it will happen.
"I don't know if it's truly off the table, but I think there's certainly a stalemate right now and I'm really giving the reigns to my agent Jack Bechta," LaPorta said, via ESPN's Eric Woodyard. "He's been handling it with the front office and all the advice he's given me so far is just that we haven't come to terms yet. That's about it."
Players always defer to their agent when asked about contract talks, as they should. But LaPorta adding the word "stalemate" to his comments is a little different than normal, and adds juice to what he said.
Lions have an obvious fallback to Sam LaPorta 'stalemate'
Since it has been an option, the Lions have used the franchise tag just four times. The last time they did it was 2018, with defensive end Ziggy Ansah.
Sometimes, placing the franchise tag on a player is simply a placeholder for a long-term deal. It also allows discussions about a multi-year to continue to mid-July if needed, with the player's right's locked in for that year as long as he signs the tender.
Players generally don't like the franchise tag, since it guarantees nothing long-term, but there are worse things than a notable fully guaranteed salary for one season.
However long the current "stalemate" in contract talks goes on, the Lions and LaPorta are in line to need more time to get a multi-year deal done. So the franchise tag is there as an option, even if neither side particularly wants it.
READ MORE: Insider still believes the Lions should make an impact trade at cornerback
LaPorta's agent could reasonably be asking for $19-$20 million per year, and the Lions are balking (at least for now). Over The Cap's current projection for the tight end franchise tag in 2027 is $17.479 million.
When it comes to other moves next offseason, particularly to help the defense, every saved dollar will matter and the Lions can secure LaPorta's services at a slightly lower cost for 2027 via the franchise tag.
Since the Lions never shut down contract talks during the season, the current stall in talks with LaPorta could end at literally any time and a deal could then get done. But it makes sense from the team's end to pretty much hold whatever financial line they're currently holding, with the franchise tag to pull out of their pocket if necessary in February.
Add us as a preferred source on Google