Jack Campbell blossomed into one of the best linebackers in the NFL last season, and the Detroit Lions are rewarding him for his work.
The Lions signed Campbell to a four-year extension Thursday, May 21, that will keep him in Detroit through the 2030 season. Campbell announced the extension in a video posted to the team’s X account.
“I signed my extension, I’m excited to be back, I’m excited to be here long-term,” Campbell said in the video. “Now it’s time to go win a Super Bowl.”
The deal comes less than a month after the Lions declined the fifth-year option on Campbell’s rookie contract because of its cost and is expected to make the soon-to-be 26-year-old one of the highest-paid off-ball linebackers in the NFL.
Fred Warner, who averages $21 million per season on the three-year, $63 million extension he signed with the San Francisco 49ers last spring, and Roquan Smith, who signed a five-year, $100 million deal with the Baltimore Ravens in 2023, are currently the only linebackers making at least $20 million per season.
Had the Lions exercised the fifth-year option on Campbell’s contract, it would have ballooned his 2027 base salary to nearly $22 million, put Campbell in line for a bigger payday under the franchise tag and potentially cost the Lions more on a long-term deal.
Full details on Campbell’s new contract are not yet known.
“He’s our bell cow,” Lions coach Dan Campbell said in December. “He’s smart and he’s instinctive and he is snap to whistle all out, all the time. In practice, too. And he doesn’t take plays off, he doesn’t take days off. He goes after the football, he’s a ball guy, so he’s invaluable.”
The No. 18 pick of the 2023 draft, Jack Campbell has largely lived up to his billing as a first-round pick, one of just three off-ball linebackers to go in Round 1 of the past four NFL drafts.
He led the Lions and finished second in the NFL with 176 tackles last season, when he played all but eight of the team’s 1,105 defensive snaps and had career-highs in sacks (five), forced fumbles (three) and fumble recoveries (two) while earning first-team All-Pro honors for the first time in his career.
A part-time starter as a rookie, Campbell has handled green-dot responsibilities as the Lions’ every-down defensive communicator and primary middle linebacker the past two seasons.
He’s considered one of the best run defenders in the NFL, and his maturation as a player is one reason the Lions felt comfortable letting Alex Anzalone walk in free agency this spring.
“This is Jack Campbell’s defense,” Lions defensive coordinator Kelvin Sheppard said at the NFL combine in February. “And I don’t hesitate when I say that. This is Jack Campbell’s defense and everybody in that locker room knows it, point blank, period. It all goes through Jack.”
Campbell is the latest in a line of foundational players the Lions have signed to long-term extensions the past two years.
In 2024, the Lions signed 2021 draft picks Penei Sewell, Amon-Ra St. Brown and Alim McNeill, plus quarterback Jared Goff, to multi-year extensions. Last year, the team inked 2022 draft picks Aidan Hutchinson, Kerby Joseph and Jameson Williams to long-term deals and re-signed 2021 fourth-round pick Derrick Barnes in free agency.
Along with Campbell, the team is working to try and extend 2023 draft picks Jahmyr Gibbs, Brian Branch and Sam LaPorta to multi-year extensions this offseason.
Gibbs, the No. 12 pick of the 2023 draft, is a three-time Pro Bowler who’s rushed for 3,580 yards so far in his career, while Branch (torn Achilles) and LaPorta (back surgery) – both second-round picks in 2023 – are coming off season-ending injuries.
Dave Birkett covers the Lions for the Detroit Free Press. Contact him at dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on Bluesky, X and Instagram at @davebirkett.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Lions lock up Jack Campbell with new contract
Reporting by Dave Birkett, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
