Jahmyr Gibbs has proven himself to be one of the best running backs in football.
In fact, some of his stats make the case that he's had the best start to an RB career in the NFL since another Detroit Lions superstar, Barry Sanders.
That sets up the Lions to start thinking about a Gibbs contract extension, with ESPN's Dan Graziano analyzed in a new article on Friday.
The first key point is that the Lions have some time. Gibbs' fourth year of his rookie deal is 2026, and then with the fifth-year option on his contract as a former first-round pick, Gibbs will also be under contract for 2027.
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So anything the Lions do with Gibbs, essentially, is to keep him around in 2028 and beyond.
Graziano picks out the $20 million number as a pivot point in per-year value.
"Saquon Barkley's post-Super Bowl extension with the Eagles brings his average annual salary to $20.6 million per year, which provides a target for top-end running backs," Graziano writes. "Gibbs likely tries to beat Barkley's number, while the Lions will likely try to keep the number under $20 million. Whether this gets done this offseason could come down to which side digs in harder."
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The Lions also have extensions to figure out with Brian Branch, Sam LaPorta and Jack Campbell, which could make it a busy offseason and could have a domino effect on one another depending on which deals get done when.
Graziano actually predicts that in the end, Gibbs will get exactly $20 million per year in the form of a four-year contract for $80 million.
The ESPN insider writes that this offseason, he believes Detroit will get extensions done with all four players. That would keep the energy quite solid in the Lions' building.
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