Jack Campbell's extension is done. So is one for Jahmyr Gibbs. And the Detroit Lions still want to sign the other stars of the 2023 draft class to new deals this fall.
Lions general manager Brad Holmes said in his annual preseason press conference Wednesday, Sept. 2, in Allen Park that finalizing extensions for safety Brian Branch and tight end Sam LaPorta remains a top priority.
"We still want to keep those other guys around," Holmes said. "Those plans haven’t changed. There’s a couple factors that we still got to sort through, but in terms of us wanting those guys around, absolutely. Hopefully we can get that done."
Both Branch and LaPorta, the Lions' second-round picks in 2023, are coming off season-ending injuries that have complicated new
deals.
Branch tore his Achilles last December and will miss at least the first four games of the regular season on the physically unable to perform list. LaPorta is returning from back surgery.
Branch has not practiced this summer and Holmes declined to offer a timeline on his return or the return of fellow safety Kerby Joseph on Wednesday. LaPorta missed time this preseason with a hip injury but should be ready for the regular-season opener Sept. 13 against the New Orleans Saints at Ford Field.
"We still have confidence that [Branch and Joseph] can come back, you just can’t really give an exact timeline," Holmes said. "But yeah, I mean, they’re both here, they’re rehabbing, they’re working hard, just can’t offer a timeline. But yeah, the hopes is to have both of them back at some point."
Branch, 24, has been one of the best safeties in the NFL when healthy. He made the Pro Bowl in 2024 and has seven interceptions, 4½ sacks and three forced fumbles in his career. He was the No. 45 overall pick out of Alabama.
LaPorta, 25, set a rookie tight end record with 86 catches for 889 yards in 2023 but has seen his production tick down the past two seasons. Last year, he caught 40 passes for 489 yards. He was the No. 34 pick out of Iowa.
The safety market has moved up considerably in the last year with Derwin James and Kyle Hamilton signing extensions worth around $25 million per season. When Joseph signed his extension in April 2025, he briefly became the NFL's highest-paid safety at $21.25 million per year.
At tight end, George Kittle and Trey McBride signed top-of-the-market extensions worth around $19 million last season. Kyle Pitts, who signed a three-year, $53 million deal this offseason, is the only other tight end making more than $14 million per season.
Holmes said the Gibbs extension was "unique" because both he and Atlanta Falcons running back Bijan Robinson were working on new contracts at the same time. Robinson signed a three-year deal worth $66.75 million in early August that made him the NFL's highest-paid running back, and Gibbs finalized his three-year, $67.5 million extension with the Lions two days later.
"Al of them are unique, especially when it gets up to that magnitude from a financial standpoint," Holmes said. "It was just unique that both of those guys were kind of happening at the same time so it was just more of kind of just being patient. Like we already knew what we wanted to do and you just had to see who was going to get done first and you got to kind of adjust and pivot off of that."
Dave Birkett covers the Lions for the Detroit Free Press. Contact him at dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on Bluesky, X and Instagram at @davebirkett.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: 'Plans haven't changed' on new contracts for Lions' Sam LaPorta, Brian Branch
