Detroit Lions 2025 NFL draft haul: Dave Birkett, Rainer Sabin talk Day 2 targets
Detroit Lions 2025 NFL Draft haul: Dave Birkett, Rainer Sabin talk Day 2 targets ahead of Friday’s second and third rounds.
Aidan Hutchinson and Jameson Williams aren’t going anywhere for at least two more years.
The Detroit Lions exercised the fifth-year options on the rookie contracts of Hutchinson and Williams on April 25, tying their 2022 first-round picks to the team through the 2026 season.
According to OverTheCap.com, Hutchinson’s option will cost about $20.86 million, while Williams’ will cost about $15.49 million. Both are fully guaranteed.
The Lions have built the nucleus of their Super Bowl-contending roster through the draft and were expected to pick up the options for Hutchinson and Williams as part of their plan to build around their young core.
Last year, they signed 2021 draft picks Penei Sewell, Amon-Ra St. Brown and Alim McNeill to extensions, and general manager Brad Holmes said the team mostly stayed away from pursuing high-priced veteran free agents this offseason because it was budgeting for future extensions with Hutchinson, fellow 2022 draft pick Kerby Joseph and others.
As a third-round pick, Joseph’s rookie contract did not include a fifth-year option.
Hutchinson, the No. 2 pick of the 2022 draft, led the Lions with 7.5 sacks last season despite missing 12 games with a broken leg. He has 28.5 sacks, four interceptions and four forced fumbles in 39 career games and expected to become one of the NFL’s highest-paid non-quarterbacks when he signs an extnesion.
Hutchinson posted encouraging video of his rehab on social media this spring and will take part in some of the Lions’ offseason workout program this spring.
Williams, the No. 12 pick in 2022, set career-highs with 58 catches, 1,001 yards receiving and eight touchdowns (seven receiving) last season. Holmes said at the NFL’s annual spring meeting that the Lions likely would pick up Williams’ option, though he was less clear about signing Williams to a long-term extension.
“We’re still taking it as it goes,” Holmes said in March. “Look, his fifth-year option, it’s looking likely that we’ll go ahead and just pick that up. But in terms of extension, again, there’s a lot of extensions that are hopefully coming, but it’s just one that you just don’t know what’s going to happen from a financial standpoint cause a wide receiver, it’s expensive. It’s very expensive.”
Williams, 24, is one of the NFL’s top deep threats, but he also has served two suspensions in his first three NFL seasons, for violating league policies on gambling and performance enhancing substances, and missed most of his rookie year while recovering from a torn ACL.
The Lions also made St. Brown one of the game’s highest-paid receivers by signing him to an extension that averages $30 million per season last spring.
The price of receivers has shot up since that deal, and Williams could command more money on his next contract. Currently, just three teams have two receivers making more than $25 million per season, the Philadelphia Eagles, Miami Dolphins and Cincinnati Bengals, who signed receivers Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins to contracts totaling $276 million this offseason.
Dave Birkett is the author of the book, “Detroit Lions: An Illustrated Timeline.” Order your copy here. Contact him at dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on Bluesky, X and Instagram at @davebirkett.