By Benjamin Raven, Tribune News Service
INDIANAPOLIS — The NFL has officially set the salary cap for 2026 and informed teams of the fifth-year option costs.
Once again, the cap has jumped, seeing a $22 million rise to $301.2 million for next season. The Detroit Lions are still $12.159 million over the cap and have some work to do before free agency begins in the coming weeks.
Detroit’s cap situation is the fourth-worst in the NFL, per Over the Cap. They must get to even ground with the salary cap by 4 p.m. on March 11, so expect a handful of moves and likely restructures sooner rather than later.
“Obviously, with what you’re weighing for the future and the right now,” Lions general manager Brad Holmes said of potential restructures. “But bottom line is we have to make those kinds of decisions to make sure that we’re in the appropriate, let’s call it, window from a financial standpoint to make the moves that we want to make. I’ve always been open-minded about that.
“It’s just that we’ve been in kind of different windows every single year as we’ve gone through this journey. So I’ve been open-minded with that for sure.”
Also, of note, the Lions have two eligible players for the fifth-year option this offseason. Running back Jahmyr Gibbs and linebacker Jack Campbell were first-round picks in 2023, and the league also announced the cost of those options.
Gibbs and Campbell are likely to get extensions as cornerstone players, with the Lions previously tacking on new deals on top of the fifth-year option as they did with cornerstone right tackle Penei Sewell a couple of years ago. That’s a good way to extend the life of the contract.
The fifth-year option for Gibbs will cost $14.293 million since he has made two Pro Bowls. That $14.293 million figure would be the fourth-highest cap hit in the NFL at running back. But Gibbs is a young superstar who is already one of the best in the game.
Campbell’s fifth-year option would be a whopping $21.925 million with his one Pro Bowl selection. The NFL has off-ball linebackers higher than edge rushers, which is a curious stance that could use an update. As things stand, that figure would represent the third-highest off-ball linebacker cap hit in 2027. Campbell just made the first-team All-Pro team as a true breakout player, and the Lions have not been shy about declaring their defense as his for now and the future.
Holmes mentioned the “different timelines and levers” they can use when MLive asked the general manager about extension priorities at the NFL combine. The deadline to exercise fifth-year options for 2023 picks is May 1, meaning it will likely be a topic for owners meetings next month.
Tight end Sam LaPorta and safety Brian Branch, 2023 second-round picks, are also eligible for extensions this offseason. LaPorta is recovering from December back surgery, and Branch is working through an Achilles injury suffered that same month.
“Those are all players that we feel are core players that we want to keep around,” Holmes said. “They’re part of our foundation. But again, it just goes back to the — retaining, OK, that’s paying, and then it’s, ‘Well, how much additional resources do you have going forward?’
“And look, there’s a lot of different timelines and levers that we’ll have at our disposal, but those are all players that you rattled off that we see as key pieces that we want to keep around for a long time.”
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