The Detroit Lions have signed linebacker Jack Campbell to a contract extension through the 2030 season, the team announced Thursday. Financial details are not yet known.
Campbell has developed into one of the NFL’s best linebackers since he was selected with the 18th overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, especially as a run defender. He received All-Pro honors for his efforts in 2025, which included 176 total tackles (nine for loss), five sacks, four forced fumbles and 10 pass deflections. He also led the league in run stops (44), according to Pro Football Focus.
“He embodies everything this program is built on,” Lions defensive coordinator Kelvin Sheppard, Campbell’s former position coach, said last September.
Earlier this offseason, the Lions opted to decline Campbell’s fifth-year option for the 2027 campaign because of its inflated price. The NFL clumps off-ball linebackers and outside linebackers together in the formula to create the value of fifth-year options, meaning the cost of Campbell’s option was driven up by players who are mostly used as pass rushers, like Micah Parsons (Green Bay Packers) and T.J. Watt (Pittsburgh Steelers).
Pass rushers are paid more than off-ball linebackers. Campbell’s fifth-year option was worth a fully-guaranteed $21.9 million, which would’ve made him the highest-paid off-ball linebacker in the NFL, ahead of San Francisco’s Fred Warner ($21 million). Regardless, a deal now has been reached that pays Campbell what he’s worth while simultaneously giving the Lions flexibility to move his cap hit, rather than being bogged down by an immovable $21.9 million figure in 2027.
Often credited for his grit, Campbell flexed his toughness in a Week 3 win over the Baltimore Ravens last season, playing every defensive snap despite suffering a significant gash to his upper lip early in the third quarter. The wound was temporarily patched up on the sideline at M&T Bank Stadium before he later saw a specialist, who gave him, “if I had to guess, like eight or nine” stitches.
Campbell led the Lions in defensive snaps last regular season (1,096) and was second on the team in 2024 (973), behind safety Kerby Joseph (1,084). He’s made 46 starts in 51 appearances. Among the 347 defenders who played at least 500 snaps on defense last season, Campbell’s overall defensive grade from Pro Football Focus (90.2) ranked sixth. Four of the players ahead of Campbell were edge defenders, in Cleveland’s Myles Garrett (92.7), Houston’s Will Anderson Jr. (92.3), Parsons (91.9) and Detroit’s Aidan Hutchinson (91.8). Also above Campbell was was Pittsburgh Steelers defensive tackle Cameron Heyward (90.4).
Since 2020, Campbell, Warner, Philadelphia’s Zack Baun and Bobby Wagner (current free agent) are the only off-ball linebackers in the NFL who hit the 500-snap benchmark in the regular season and recorded a defensive grade from PFF above 90.0.
“He’s a stud, man,” Lions coach Dan Campbell said of Jack Campbell in September. “This guy, he’s a workaholic. … He’s playing at a really high level right now, and we feel like the guy can do it all. … He’s all ball, man. He’s all ball. Whatever you need is what he’s going to do.”
With Alex Anzalone’s exit for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers this offseason, Campbell is expected to take on even more responsibilities in 2026 and beyond. He donned the green dot for Detroit’s defense last season, communicating calls from Sheppard to his teammates. Next up could be a captain’s patch on his jersey, something Campbell hasn’t had since he was a standout at Iowa.
“I’m very fortunate to be able to have that player running this defense,” Sheppard said.
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This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Lions sign star linebacker Jack Campbell to contract extension
Reporting by Richard Silva, The Detroit News / The Detroit News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
