The Lions didn’t exercise their option on linebacker Jack Campbell’s contract for the 2027 season, but they said the move didn’t change their desire to keep Campbell in Detroit for the long term.
Words met action last week when Campbell signed a four-year, $81 million extension with the team. That deal reflects Campbell’s value to the Lions and it fit with Campbell’s desire to be a member of the team “no matter what.”
“Let’s be realistic here, like, I already have more than enough. So, for me, it was more about the principle of I just want to be in the elite category, because I feel like I’m an elite linebacker and that’s the way [Lions GM] Brad [Holmes] saw it and that’s the way everyone upstairs saw it . . . I feel like, for me, I don’t need to be the highest paid,” Campbell said, via Eric Woodyard of ESPN.com. “Even though the guys around the league would probably appreciate that because it bumps up everything. So, I’m sorry to them. But I just feel like for me, I knew what I wanted in this. I want to help the team in any way possible. Just to continue to keep the core together so, I mean, at the end of the day, I feel like it was fair for the team and I’m more than happy with everything that they blessed me with.”
Campbell isn’t the highest-paid linebacker in the league, but there’s not much of a gap between him and 49ers star Fred Warner. Warner’s deal averages $21 million per year, which is just ahead of where Campbell now ranks in the pecking order. It seems unlikely that anyone is going to be too upset about how those things stack up, so the deal feels like a winner across the board.