Allen Park — If you’re asking general manager Brad Holmes whether he’d like to keep running back Jahmyr Gibbs and linebacker Jack Campbell in Detroit through 2027, the answer is an obvious and resounding yes.
But whether the Detroit Lions can afford to pick up the fifth-year option for Campbell, specifically? Well, that’s a different question entirely. With the deadline to pick up their fifth-year options (March 1) less than a week away, Holmes said the Lions’ front office is weighing its choices.
Holmes has previously said that he’d like to work out extensions for all four of their top picks in the 2023 draft, which includes Campbell, Gibbs, tight end Sam LaPorta and safety Brian Branch.
“We’re still having those discussions and trying to see what we’re going to do. But we’re having open dialogue,” Holmes said Saturday after Day 3 of the NFL Draft. “Once we get them executed, you guys will be the first ones to know.”
The holdup presumably has to do with Detroit trying to work out contract extensions to reduce his cap hit in his fifth season. Detroit could, in theory, build the fifth-year option into a contract extension to lessen the cap hit in his fifth season, as it did with offensive tackle Penei Sewell. But it appears the two sides have yet to hammer out the details of such a move, and frankly, the Lions are not exactly negotiating from a place of leverage. Campbell can ride out the remainder of his rookie deal and hit free agency next offseason if Detroit doesn’t pick it up.
Fifth-year option cap hits are calculated based on the highest salaries for players at their position and their accolades in the league. The problem is that off-ball linebackers like Campbell are not differentiated from pass-rushing on-ball, outside linebackers — edge defenders in a 3-4 defense — like Joshua Hines-Allen ($28.3 million average annual cap hit), Brian Burns ($28.2 million) and Odafe Oweh ($24 million).
So, whereas the league’s current highest-paid off-ball linebacker (Fred Warner, San Francisco 49ers) makes $21 million annually, Campbell’s fifth-year option as a linebacker will instantly reset the market at $21.9 million, because it’s averaged by the salaries of players like Hines-Allen, Burns, Oweh and others. Hence, why some believe it’s a low-reward strategy to draft off-ball linebackers in Round 1.
Gibbs would be due $14.3 million on his option, which would tie him for the fifth-highest-paid running back in the league.
Campbell’s ascent to First-Team All-Pro in 2025 was a great development for the Lions’ defense, but it will cost the Lions millions in cap space. Had he not made All-Pro or a Pro Bowl in 2025, the cap hit for his fifth-year option would have been around $15.1 million.
nbianchi@detroitnews.com
@nolanbianchi
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Detroit Lions still weighing fifth-year option for LB Jack Campbell
Reporting by Nolan Bianchi, The Detroit News / The Detroit News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
