Detroit Lions Free Agency Profile: Al-Quadin Muhammad may be Detroit’s most important free agent

The Lions would be wise to bring AQM back

Mike Payton — Detroit Lions Beat Writer
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We’re getting closer to NFL free agency opening, and over the next few weeks, you’ll see the Detroit Lions begin to bring back some of their own players on new contracts.

With that in mind, we’ll be profiling multiple Lions and discussing whether they’ll be coming back. We’ve already talked about Alex Anzalone; now we’ll talk about Al-Quadin Muhammad.

Why Al-Quadin Muhammad stays with the Lions

I think maybe some Lions fans have some trauma. Keeping Muhammad feels like keeping Marcus Davenport to them, and it says, “We’re not doing anything else at the position because we’re cheap.” That’s not what is happening here.

The Lions are well aware of what they did wrong last off-season. It was a big part of their end-of-season pressers where you could tell they were reflecting on their mistakes. One of them was not taking the need for edge help seriously. However, that actually makes a great deal of sense as to why Muhammad should stay.

The idea is not that you keep him here to be the starter and the end-all be-all of what you did; the idea is to have the best depth that you can possibly have, and a guy who had 11.5 sacks in 2025 working into a rotation is definitely not something that every team has. For those reasons, it makes too much sense.

Why Al-Quadin Muhammad doesn’t come back to the Lions

Did I mention this guy had 11.5 sacks last year? This gives him a chance to have the best market he’s ever had. Teams are going to be looking to give him a call if he hits the open market, and he could get his best deal there.

Luckily for the Lions, they get to talk to him first before he hits the market in March. They can get him locked up then. Here’s what that deal could look like:

Al-Quadin Muhammad contract projection

A two-year deal worth $14 million, with $7 million of that guaranteed, is a good deal for the Lions. If they do it their way, they’ll pay that guaranteed money up front and give themselves an out in 2027 if he has a big drop-off in his game.

Final Prediction

At this point, it would be a major shock if Muhammad were not back in Detroit in 2026. The coaches love him, the players love him, and he produces. Those are the kind of guys you hold onto. We’re definitely predicting that Muhammad sticks around.

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