Detroit Lions defensive tackle Alim McNeill is one of the most overpaid players in the NFL. Garrett Podell of CBS Sports unveiled the All-Overpaid team, and his choice at defensive line was McNeill.
Podell acknowledged that McNeill suffered a serious injury after signing, which has not helped his case.
“He’s been unable to stay on the field of late, a common theme for the Lions’ defense these days, missing a combined 14 games since 2023,” wrote Podell.
McNeill missed three games in 2024 due to an ACL injury, and he missed seven games in 2025 as the recovery process took place. However, he has not been good enough on the field to be labeled a value, either.
“In 2025, his 52.5 defensive grade ranked 89th out of 127 interior defensive linemen grades by Pro Football Focus,” wrote Podell. “McNeill’s career-high 5.0 sacks came back in 2023, and he’s accumulated just 4.5 across the last two seasons. Detroit needs much more out of McNeil with three years remaining on this albatross.”
McNeill is making an average of $24.25M per year. That makes him the tenth highest-paid interior defensive lineman by average annual salary. He looked like he was going to live up to that potential when he signed the deal, but the last two years have not led to the same results.
Detroit Lions DT Alim McNeill Appears on Overpaid List
GettyAlim McNeill #54 of the Detroit Lions.
McNeill had been steadily progressing before he signed his extension. When he signed his deal, it was after a career-high five sacks. Even though he only recorded 3.5 sacks the following year, he saw his total pressure numbers increase from 34 to 45. The ACL changed things.
He was not nearly the same in 2025, and he admitted it. McNeill noted that he tried to get back on the field too soon. It ended up making him less impactful when he was on the field.
However, now that he had a full offseason to recover, he noted that he sees a night-and-day difference in training camp this year.
“It’s a night and day difference between last year and now,” McNeill said. “Some stuff was just not there; no matter how hard I tried to do certain stuff, it just wasn’t there yet.”
McNeill is Tenth Highest Paid Interior, Defensive Lineman
The Lions signed McNeill to such a hefty deal, assuming that a few new deals would come in and reset the market. That happened this offseason. Jalen Carter signed a record-setting extension that was worth $38M per year. Quinnen Williams is right below him with a $35.3M per year deal. Jeffery Simmons also signed this offseason, and his deal was worth $35.275 per year.
Even Dexter Lawrence and Jordan Davis recently signed extensions that were worth $28M and $26M, respectively. Vita Vea recently signed an extension that bumped him from $18M per year to $24M per year. He came in right behind McNeill. So, while the McNeill extension does not look good because his play has not backed it up, the Lions’ projection of salaries increasing has looked smart.
If McNeill can return to full health and show that he can maintain explosiveness, the deal could still look fine. If it is more of the 2025 season, the Lions will continue to look bad.
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