Already extending a handful of players drafted under GM Brad Holmes, the Lions have another glut of key starters approaching extension-eligible status. Jahmyr Gibbs , Jack Campbell , Sam LaPorta and Brian Branch will be up for new deals in January.
LaPorta and Branch, because they were drafted in the second round, will be in contract years; the Lions can move former first-rounders Gibbs and Campbell’s contracts through 2027 via the fifth-year option. Our Adam La Rose covered this rich man’s problem in a recent mailbag , but Branch’s Achilles tear occurred soon after . That offers a complication for Detroit.
Branch going down brings unfortunate timing, but he does have one more season on his rookie contract. That gives him time to build up and show top form once again. But any plans for a near-top-market extension coming before next season likely ended when the tear was confirmed.
The Lions should not be expected to extend Branch during the 2026 offseason, the Detroit Free Press’ Dave Birkett notes . Instead, the team will likely make the standout safety show he has returned to form before making the decision to pay him.
Detroit has experience proceeding down this road, extending Aidan Hutchinson this season after he showed dominant form once again. Though, the Lions were interested in paying Hutchinson before Week 1; the Micah Parsons Packers contract brought a delay . Detroit also extended Alim McNeill in-season, showing an openness to completing big-ticket deals outside of the offseason. Branch would make sense for such a move, provided he recovers from the Achilles injury.
The Lions introduced a complication with Branch by giving Kerby Joseph a then-safety-record extension in April . Joseph was in a contract year at the time, but rather than risk the situation leading to a franchise tag (with a Branch payday in mind for 2026) or a free agency exit, the Lions paid up via a four-year, $85MM accord. Joseph, however, has run into a knee injury that has kept him off the field since Week 6. While Joseph has vowed to come back before season’s end, he has not returned to practice as of Wednesday. Joseph is not on IR, a shutdown could commence . That clouds the Lions’ safety situation.
Branch’s injury stings a secondary that also lost Terrion Arnold for the season, and it could conceivably impact how Detroit proceeds with its 2023 draftees. Gibbs is a priority , while LaPorta — also out for the year — may well take precedence over Campbell. The latter should be considered unlikely to have his fifth-year option exercised; no team has picked up an off-ball linebacker’s option since the Buccaneers exercised Devin White ‘s in 2022. All linebackers being grouped together under the franchise tag and option formulas makes tagging them or exercising options tricky. The Packers passed on Quay Walker ‘s option for this reason . This will accelerate Campbell’s clock if/when the Lions pass on his 2027 guarantee.
Branch, 24, earned a Pro Bowl nod last year; Pro Football Focus slots him ninth among safeties this season. Showing quality form post-surgery next year would open the door to the Alabama alum pushing to eclipse Joseph’s $21.25MM AAV to bridge the gap closer to two-time All-Pro Kyle Hamilton
— whom the Ravens gave a market-shifting $25.1MM per year. A resolution on this matter may be tabled until at least next fall. The Lions have exclusive negotiating rights with Branch until March 2027.
Elsewhere on the Lions’ roster, Dan Campbell said (via Birkett ) he hopes left guard starter Christian Mahogany can return from IR in Week 16. Mahogany has missed the past six games with a knee injury. The Lions designated him for return last week . The first-year starter’s IR-return clock will not expire until December 31, but with the Lions at 8-6 and stationed on the “in the hunt” line in playoff graphics, time is running out for a third straight playoff berth.