The Detroit Lions finished one of their most successful seasons in franchise history in the 2023-24 NFL season. The Lions finalized their season with 12 regular season wins and two postseason victories landing, them on the brink of the Super Bowl for just the second time in the team’s history. Since the NFC North’s creation in 2002, Detroit had not won the conference, which changed during their successful 2023-24 campaign.
The Detroit Lions organization had big decisions to make going forward with their roster in the 2024 offseason, what players could they lock down for the long-term future? They answered those questions on 4/24 when they spent over 222 million dollars on re-signing two of their homegrown talents.
Detroit Lions Re-Sign Young Star Reciever Amon-Ra St. Brown
Amon-Ra St. Brown was a fourth-round draft pick for the Detroit Lions in 2021. In his short three-year career he has helped transform the Lions’ offense into a legitimate threat. Averaging over 1,000 yards a season and coming off of the best year of his career, the Detroit Lions had an easy decision to make on the intention of retaining St. Brown’s talent.
Sources: The #Lions have a deal for one of the top young talents, agreeing on an extension for WR Amon-Ra St. Brown. He gets 4 years and more than $120M with $77M guaranteed.
The deal done by @JobyBranion of @VanguardSG makes St. Brown the highest-paid WR in the NFL. pic.twitter.com/EIoBNU6jJw
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) April 24, 2024
The new contract has the potential to pay him the same amount as Tyreek Hill, the highest-paid wide receiver in the NFL. With the increased cap space in the 2024 offseason, contract inflation was due to happen, Now receivers like Brandon Aiyuk, Ceedee Lamb, and most notably NFC North rival Justin Jefferson are due for a pay-day and will likely point towards Amon-Ra’s contract as a baseline.
Detroit Lions Secure Offensive Tackle Penei Sewell With Historic Contract
Penei Sewell was a premier draft pick for the Detroit Lions out of the University of Oregon in 2021 at pick number seven. The young stud lived up to the draft pick and has proven himself as an elite tackle in the NFL, letting up just three sacks in two seasons as a starter, claiming consecutive Pro Bowls and a 2023-24 All-Pro selection. The Lions ensured their future in quarterback protection, making Sewell the highest-paid Offensive lineman of all time.
Sources: #Lions All-Pro OT Penei Sewell has agreed to terms on a four-year, $112 million extension that makes him the new highest-paid offensive lineman in the NFL.
The deal, which includes $85 million guaranteed, was done by Justin Schulman and Joe Panos of @AthletesFirst. pic.twitter.com/1LUydpbzwd
— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) April 24, 2024
How These Signing Effect The Detroit Lions Future
The Detroit Lions are committing to the young core that has taken them to newfound heights, but when two record-breaking contracts get signed it has to affect future roster decisions.
Arguably the biggest decision will come in the 2025 offseason with their current starting quarterback Jared Goff. As discussed in Joseph Zucker’s Bleacher Report article, there may not be many options for the Detroit Lions come 2025.
Paying Goff upwards of $40 million or more would put a sizable dent in the Lions’ cap space, but they may have no other alternative. They’d be spending just as much or more to sign another of the signal-callers headed for free agency that offseason, and pivoting to a younger, less expensive replacement would be a risky call for a franchise that will have big aims.- Joseph Zucker
Alongside Jared Goff, the Detroit Lions also have to address expiring contracts of starters like tackle Taylor Decker, guard Kevin Zeitler, and new signee cornerback Carlton Davis, that is just this year. The signings of stars Penei Sewell and Amon-Ra Saint Brown will bring stability to parts of the roster, but can potentially domino into problems and constraints in just a year or two if the Detroit Lions do not play their cards correctly.
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