This story has been updated to reflect the exact numbers for Hutchinson's contract extension.
The wait for the Detroit Lions to get something done with star pass rusher Aidan Hutchinson is finally over. The potential Defensive Player of the Year candidate has been locked in with the squad on a four year, $180 million deal.
Hutchinson was one of a a few key Lions players that Detroit had to work on locking in long-term. Jameson Williams already received a 3-year, $83M extension earlier this year, and Hutchinson was the logical next man up for general manager Brad Holmes to take care of. The next player that Detroit should really be honing in on to work on an extension for is safety Brian Branch.
Branch, a top safety for the Lions who's only flaw might be his inability to let trash talkers sit idly by in games, should be set to get something close to what Baltimore Ravens safety Kyle Hamilton got this offseason: a deal to the tune of 4 years and about $100 million.
Branch is the logical next man up for Lions to get an extension done with
While Branch has had his issues with disciplinary action from the NFL, he has been a force on the field for Detroit this year. With so many injuries bogging them down, he's definitely shined as one of the better pass defenders and tougher tacklers on the squad. He has no takeaways just yet, but each week he gets closer and closer to achieving one.
With Hutchinson's deal clearly astronomical in size, it's unclear what the team is probably going to be comfortable offering Branch moving forward. There's also the matter of the Lions needing to also extend Jack Campbell and Jahmyr Gibbs at some point soon.
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Both will command quite exorbitant deals, as well, with Campbell the leading tackler for Detroit and Gibbs looking like he's going to easily become the league's best rusher in 2025.
Branch is invaluable to this team. At just 24 years old, the team has the chance to lock down one of their leaders both on their defense and on the team while he's still in his prime. In fact, it feels like he hasn't even touched his prime.