Do not freak out when the Lions don't sign their rookies as fast as everyone else does
Every year, the NFL gets together and drafts some rookies, and every year the rest of the league seems to sign those players to their rookie contracts faster than the Detroit Lions, and then every year some Lions fans proceed to freak out about why that's happening. Today, we're going to explain why you shouldn't […]
Every year, the NFL gets together and drafts some rookies, and every year the rest of the league seems to sign those players to their rookie contracts faster than the Detroit Lions, and then every year some Lions fans proceed to freak out about why that's happening.
Today, we're going to explain why you shouldn't do that this year. For starters, a rookie holdout is a super rare thing. The last time a guy really held out and didn't show up to camp was back in 2016 when Joey Bosa missed 31 days before finally signing his rookie deal. It just doesn't happen. If it does, it's usually with players selected highly. So don't expect 28th pick Tyleik Williams to hold out.
Typically, what the Lions will do is sign their later-round picks first and there's a good chance they'll do them all on the same day. In 2024, the Lions signed Giovanni Manu, Sione Vaki, Mekhi Wingo, and Christian Mahogany on May 10th. That was 13 days after the draft. At the time this article is being written, we're currently nine days post-draft. So, news on Isaac TeSlaa, Miles Frazier, Ahmed Hassanein, Dan Jackson, and Dominic Lovett could be coming soon.
Then comes the first and second round, guys. Ennis Rakestraw signed his rookie deal on May 31st last year. So there's your timetable on the Tate Ratledge announcement.
As for Williams, that one could take a little bit. The Lions did sign Penei Sewell, Aidan Hutchinson, and Jameson Williams in early May, but Jahmyr Gibbs took until July 25th to get his deal done. Last year, Terrion Arnold didn't have his rookie deal done until June 13th.
So there's potential that Williams could have his signed sometime in the summer. It won't mean that he's holding out for more money or something; it just means that the first-round contracts cost a little bit more and therefore take a little more time to get hammered out.
Now that Aidan Hutchinson is cleared, here’s when you might expect him to sign his big market-changing extension
The Detroit Lions got some big news on Thursday when Aidan Hutchinson stood at the podium and announced to local media that he his fully cleared to resume football activities. Absolutely huge news. Now the question is wondering when will Hutchinson get that huge extension that everyone expects him to get? An extension that could […]
