That ended up happening, with the four-year guard starter landing a three-year, $51M deal from the Rams. Jackson’s Rams deal came on a day in which two teams — the Rams and Panthers — each finalized plans to add two high-priced guards.
Jackson joins Kevin Dotson as a well-paid Rams guard; the latter signed a three-year, $48M contract. While the Rams’ guard plan also involved re-signing a starter to keep him out of free agency, the Lions crafted a similar approach.
Although not much came out about a Lions effort to re-sign Jackson, The Detroit News’ Justin Rogers notes the team had hopes of reaching a deal that would keep him off the market.
A belief in the building existed that Jackson would be retained even in the days before free agency, but Rogers adds the Lions then learned Jackson’s price tag would come in higher than they anticipated.
Other teams undoubtedly encountered similar issues, with the salary cap rising by more than $30M from its 2023 place. This year’s guard class featured several candidates to score big contracts, and the cap spike effectively ensured that the group would fare well.
Dotson’s re-signing with the Rams before the market opened also helped players like Jackson, who received the second-highest guard payment among this year’s UFAs — behind only the Panthers’ five-year, $100M Robert Hunt deal.
Jackson, 27, had expressed a fondness for Detroit and hoped extension talks would lead to his second contract coming with the Lions. But little emerged indicating the sides were serious about an extension entering last season.
By late February, the parties were not close on terms. Jackson’s eventual defection led the Lions to add Kevin Zeitler in free agency. The 12-year veteran will team with Graham Glasgow, who re-signed (on a three-year, $20M deal that includes $8M fully guaranteed) just before the legal tampering period began.
Zeitler joined the Lions on a one-year, $6M accord. His play in a midseason Ravens rout of the Lions impressed the NFC North champions, and Rogers adds the team made contact with Zeitler early in free agency.
A deal took nearly a week to finalize, but Zeitler — a former Bengals first-round pick who later started for the Browns, Giants and Ravens — is now tied to a fifth team.