Now that Bijan Robinson signed his extension with the Atlanta Falcons, all eyes are on the Detroit Lions and Jahmyr Gibbs. While Lions General Manager Brad Holmes did not say when a deal would get done, he did provide a notable update on his appearance on SiriusXM with Jacob Hester and Pat Kirwin.
Holmes was asked where he stands with Gibbs in terms of their contract discussions. Holmes noted that the two sides are definitely engaging in dialogue right now.
Lions GM Brad Holmes on where things stand on the contract negotiations with Jahmyr Gibbs.
“We love Jahmyr,” said Holmes. “We’re having dialogue; we’ll see where it goes.”
Pat Kirwan chimed in, saying that he expects the deal to get done, to which Holmes replied that he hopes that is so. Holmes appears optimistic, and the two sides being in dialogue is good. Still, it does not sound like they are much closer to a deal now that Robinson is signed.
Detroit Lions and Jahmyr Gibbs Remain in Contract Negotiations
GettyDetroit Lions running back Jahmyr Gibbs.
Earlier in training camp, NFL Insider Ian Rappaport reported that the team was not very close and was not moving very quickly to get things done with Gibbs. However, when Gibbs showed up on the Lions practice field, even without intentions of practicing, it signaled some movement in contract talks.
If the two sides just began talks last week, it might take some time to get a deal done. While the Robinson extension will give the team a guideline of what to expect, it is not going to be exactly the same deal.
It does give them a baseline to go off, which is likely why the talks are picking up steam.
Lions and Gibbs Could be Closing in on a Deal
Robinson signed a three-year, $66.75M deal that featured $51M in guaranteed money. So, the first two years are all guaranteed, and the team will have an option in year three to extend, keep, or let him go.
How Gibbs’ deal looks in comparison will be noteworthy. First, $22.25M per year was a nice jump from Barkley, who was at $20.6M per year. Gibbs will not see that same type of jump over Robinson. He will likely get closer to $22.5M if he tops the deal.
The guaranteed will likely be similar as well. Because Gibbs would sign the deal after Robinson, he is going to push for a slight tick-up in guaranteed salary. The only question left would be the years.
A three-year extension might work for both sides, as it does for Robinson. Teams do not want long-term deals with running backs because they wear down quickly. Running backs want the chance to dip into a rising salary cap as many times as they can before they turn 30. This will have Robinson entering a contract year when he is still younger than 27 years old.
So, Gibbs might want a similar style of deal. A three-year deal, worth $67.5M and coming in with $52M guaranteed, would be right in line with the running back market. It will be interesting to see how much different the projection is from the real contract.
Lions GM Reveals Major Jahmyr Gibbs Contract Update