Special teams star signed by the Detroit Lions. linebacker receives a record-breaking extension

The Detroit Lions were keen to sign some of their star players to long-term contracts before the summer began. They took care of one of their best on Monday.

Jalen Reeves-Maybin, the star of the Lions’ special teams, inked a two-year contract extension on Monday. Reeves-Maybin will become the highest-paid core special teams player in NFL history with this deal, which has a maximum value of $8 million and includes a $2.5 million signing bonus, according to NFL Network.

Reeves-Maybin, a fourth-round selection in 2017, tied for the NFL lead with 14 special teams tackles last season, earning him second-team All-Pro recognition.

In addition, he played a rotational role at linebacker in clear-cut passing situations and converted two fake punts, one on a 31-yard pass to Khalil Dorsey and the other on a 3-yard run. Reeves-Maybin was selected to his first Pro Bowl after finishing the previous season with 20 defensive tackles and one sack.

Despite having plenty of salary budget space this spring, Lions general manager Brad Holmes stated in a Monday interview on WXYT-FM (97.1 in Detroit) that the team will stick to its plan to draft, develop, and re-sign its own players.

“We’ve kind of kept it pretty strategic and selective in terms of the resources that we’ve had,” Holmes stated. However, what you consider to be a bigger fish (to pursue in free agency) is highly subjective. Because of the quote-unquote moniker, I believe I have an idea, but it will follow our usual methodology.”

The Lions have 18 players slated to be unrestricted free agents when the 2024 league year begins on March 13; however, kicker Michael Badgley was previously re-signed by the team to a one-year contract. Badgley and Reeves-Maybin are represented by the same agent, Brian McLaughlin.

This offseason, the team is also anticipated to attempt to sign receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown and quarterback Jared Goff to long-term contracts.

For six of his seven NFL seasons, Reeves-Maybin has called Detroit home. He signed a one-year contract with the Houston Texans as a free agent in 2022, but he later returned to the organization in the spring.