The Detroit Lions have already shown they’re willing to pay their own, and Jack Campbell’s monster extension before this season was proof. The linebacker is locked in through 2030, a move that kept the captain of the defense in place after the team let Alex Anzalone walk in free agency.
That same kind of urgency now hangs over Jahmyr Gibbs.
Detroit traded David Montgomery and signed Isiah Pacheco as a backup running back, a setup that makes Gibbs’ next contract feel like the obvious follow-up. Instead, there’s been very little movement reported between the Lions and their star back, even if Gibbs himself hasn’t sounded especially worried about it.
Still, the clock is ticking. Training camp is only two weeks away, and these things can go from calm to messy fast. For a player the team has already identified as its next bell cow on offense, getting a deal done now would seem to be the cleanest way to keep camp free of noise.
The Lions may have complicated matters by saying out loud that Gibbs would be their biggest piece on offense. Once that’s on the record, it’s hard not to notice that the extension still isn’t done.
There’s also the bigger roster picture. Gibbs, Sam LaPorta and Brian Branch are all heading toward extension talks, which puts general manager Brad Holmes in a brutal spot. Detroit’s 2023 draft class hit big, and now the reward for that success is deciding how many of those players the team can afford to keep.
Paying all of them would preserve the momentum, especially on offense. Holding back risks inviting the kind of “cheap” label teams hate, even if LaPorta and Branch now carry injury asterisks that have to be weighed before any long-term deal.
And there’s one more wrinkle: the Atlanta Falcons and Bijan Robinson. Robinson and Gibbs, both drafted in 2023, have been electric and don’t look like they’re slowing down.
Their extensions are coming, and the first one to land will set the market. That could work in Detroit’s favor, or it could make Gibbs even more expensive.
With rookies set to report in 10 days and veterans in 13, the Lions have a narrow window to get this done before the Falcons reset the price or Gibbs turns the situation into a camp distraction.
In Other News...
Isiah Pacheco Brings One Intriguing Sign For Worried Lions Fans
Isiah Pacheco arrives in Detroit with a rsum that still carries some intrigue, even after a pair of injury-hit seasons in Kansas City left his production and burst in a different place than where they once were. For the Lions, the appeal is obvious enough: a back who has shown he can be more than a grinder, now entering a new setting where the offensive structure could help him rediscover some of that edge.
What makes Pacheco worth watching is the one area that hints at a possible rebound. He posted the smallest percentage of stuffs among qualified backs in 2025, a sign that he was getting stopped at or behind the line less often than most of his peers, even if the overall results were muted. If Detroits line gives him cleaner looks and that trend holds, there is at least a path to a more productive 2026 than the one he just finished. [Read more 🡒]
Netflix Just Validated One Of The Lions' Grittiest Wins
A Lions win from last season is getting fresh attention thanks to Netflixs "Quarterback," which followed Baker Mayfield through Tampa Bays Week 7 trip to Detroit. The 24-9 result already looked like a rugged performance on the field, and the series adds another layer by showing how much the game wore on Mayfield against a Detroit defense that was piecing things together in the secondary.
Mayfields segment underscores just how uncomfortable that afternoon was for Tampa Bay, with Detroit getting consistent pressure and forcing him into a long, frustrating day of throws. It also gives the Lions another reminder of one of their most physical wins of the season, one that helped define the toughness of that group and now sits in the background as the teams move toward a rematch in Detroit this year. [Read more 🡒]