The Detroit Lions have built through the draft over the past few years. While Jared Goff was brought in via trade, the rest of the roster was largely drafted by Brad Holmes. Success in the NFL is dependent on drafting well. Everyone has their misses, but overall, the teams that draft well tend to have more success. Holmes has had many hits in the past few years. One of them is safety Kerby Joseph. He is coming off another excellent year and entering his contract’s final year. He expressed a desire to be in Detroit for his whole career.
Detroit Lions Kerby Joseph On Contract Negotiations
Kerby Joseph was the third-round pick in the 2022 NFL Draft by the Detroit Lions. He has been a force on the backend of the Lions’ defense. In three seasons, he has racked up 247 tackles, 31 passes defended, and a whopping 17 interceptions. This past year, he led the league in interceptions with nine and was named first-team All-Pro. The former Illinois product expressed his desire to stay with the franchise in an appearance on the Jim Rome Show.
“Man, I want to be a lifelong Lion, man. I just love Detroit, man. I love the city, I love the people, I love the fans. It’s just everything to be here. When I first came, nobody really knew who I was, but they showed me love.”
“I just love the fact that this organization—we didn’t have the best winning reputation, but now that we’re here and I’m here and the team is here, we’re basically coming from the ground up. And I just feel like that’s my whole story about my life. Coming from the ground up, bro. Going from zero to 100, I just feel like that’s everything I’m about, so I just love being a part of it.”
It’s easy to see why fans of the Detroit Lions love this player so much. He’s been a part of a rebuild that has been going on for decades. This fanbase has been dying for a winning team, and they finally have one. Joseph is one part of a defense that has improved greatly and will look to dominate again in 2025 with everyone back from injury. The issue with any contract negotiation is a football team is not made up of one player. There are many mouths to feed, and the money has to be balanced. This is especially true for the Lions.
Getting Expensive
The Detroit Lions roster is about to get expensive. Last offseason, the team gave extensions to Goff, Amon-Ra St. Brown, and Penei Sewell. Because of the trade capital they received from the Los Angeles Rams, they have had five first-round picks in the last three drafts. Kerby Joseph isn’t the only player from the 2022 Draft who is in line for an extension. Former second-overall pick Aidan Hutchinson is undoubtedly getting an extension from the team. The list of contract extensions gets longer down the road.
Jahmyr Gibbs, Jack Campbell, Sam LaPorta, and Brian Branch were all taken in the 2023 NFL Draft and will undoubtedly be desiring large contract extensions. The Detroit Lions may have to make some decisions down the road. It is great to have young talent, but when it comes time to pay, tough decisions often have to be made. It is worth noting this is a good problem to have. Too many good players on your team is never a bad thing.
Final Thoughts
I would expect Kerby Joseph to get an extension from the Detroit Lions. He and Hutchinson are the heart and soul of the defense. Furthermore, the team would be crazy not to sign a first-team All-Pro player who has a track record of success to a deal. This will be one of the many storylines to watch this NFL offseason.