The Detroit Lions almost never use the NFL’s franchise tag. In their team history, they’ve only used it five times since the franchise tag was introduced in 1993, and the last player to fetch it was Ezekiel Ansah back in 2018. But one expert believes it may be on the table for the Lions next year.
First, a quick explanation of the franchise tag for those who need a refresher. The franchise tag is an option for teams to keep a player that is potentially facing free agency. In short, if a player receives
a franchise tag, the team is placing a one-year tender worth the average of the five highest salaries at that player’s position. The player can then either:
- Continue to negotiate with that team for a long-term deal until the multiyear contract deadline hits
- Negotiate with other teams (unless given the exclusive franchise tag) and allow the original team an opportunity to match
- Sign the franchise tag tender and play on a one-year deal
Former NFL agent and current salary cap analyst Joel Corry published a post this week looking ahead to the 2027 franchise tag candidates, and he listed Lions tight end Sam LaPorta as one of the players who could get the designation. That said, Corry admitted that this current Lions regime is usually proactive enough to avoid such situations.
“The Lions are among the NFL’s most proactive teams at locking up core players before the expiration of rookie contracts,” Corry wrote. “This philosophy could work to LaPorta’s advantage.”
Earlier this offseason, Lions general manager Brad Holmes openly admitted he has an interest in signing the team’s first four picks in the 2023 NFL Draft—Jahmyr Gibbs, Jack Campbell, LaPorta, and Brian Branch—to extensions.
“Those are all players that we feel are core players that we want to keep around. They’re part of our foundation,” Holmes said at the NFL Combine.
Thus far, only Campbell has received an extension. And as much as the Lions want to keep all four around, their tightening salary cap situation may make the budget balancing a little more difficult. On top of that, LaPorta’s back injury could further complicate Detroit’s willingness to commit to the Pro Bowl tight end long term.
This offseason, the tight end market was set by Kyle Pitts, who inked a three-year, $53 million extension with the Falcons. However, 49ers’ George Kittle still owns the highest contract by average per year with a four-year, $76.4 million ($19.1M average) deal he signed in 2025.
We could be a long way from finding out how the Lions will approach LaPorta’s future (and Branch’s, too), but you better believe it’s something the front office is already thinking about.
Let’s move on with the rest of today’s Notes:
- Today’s Feed Post of the Day comes from Hunt Baker. I missed this post from a few days ago about a familiar question from Lions fans: “Will they win a Super Bowl before I die?” It’s a more personal piece, but I appreciate the vulnerability and share:
Don’t forget to become a member of Pride of Detroit and submit your own Feed Post!
- I’m not sure the point in this, but ESPN listed players on every team who would fetch at least one first-round pick in a trade. The Lions have seven players on that list. Can you guess them before clicking?
- Random, but Amon-Ra St. Brown and Jahmyr Gibbs did their best WWE entrance impressions:
- Get ready for more Detroit Lions and sports gambling connections. This week Soaring Eagle Casino and the Detroit Lions announced a five-year partnership, which includes a Soaring Eagle sponsored sports bar in the upper concourse of Ford Field.
- Kerby Joseph has a unique way of going through security that… doesn’t always work:
- Rapper Lil E dropped an album this week that features Alim McNeill on a track called “Here now”:
