The Detroit Lions re-signed one of their key defenders on Friday, which should help them in 2025 and beyond. According to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, Detroit agreed to a three-year, $25.5 million contract extension, which included $16 million fully guaranteed with linebacker Derrick Barnes.
The #Lions have agreed to a three-year, $25.5M extension for linebacker Derrick Barnes, a key part of their defense, per source. $16M of it is fully guaranteed at signing.
— Jeremy Fowler (@JFowlerESPN) March 7, 2025
Barnes, who was scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent next week, will now be in the Motor City, which is huge for the Lions. If the 25-year-old were to hit the open market, he would have suitors.
Luckily for the Lions, they don’t have to worry about losing Barnes, who is looking to bounce back in 2025 after missing most of the 2024 season due to a torn MCL and PCL in Week 3 against the Arizona Cardinals.
However, Barnes re-signing with the team also puts pressure on another injured Lions defender, Malcolm Rodriguez. Rodriguez is entering the last year of his rookie contract. He joined Barnes as one of the many Lions players hit by the injury bug in 2024
The 25-year-old linebacker was placed on injured reserve in November after suffering a torn ACL. Before going down with the season-ending knee injury, Rodriguez recorded 43 combined tackles, two sacks, two tackles for loss, and a forced fumble in 10 games (six starts).
The former sixth-round pick was one of Detroit’s better linebackers and overall defenders in stopping the run with an 87.1 run defense grade on PFF. That’s better than Jack Campbell (82.5), Barnes (77.2), and Alex Anzalone (54.9).
Rodriguez wasn’t horrible in pass coverage either last season with a 65.4 grade, but there’s room for improvement. The 5-foot-11 defender had an 84.2 completion percentage allowed on targets (career-worst). He also possessed an 89.3 pass rating allowed on targets (career-best).
That said, the Lions hope Rodriguez makes a full recovery and will be ready at some point in the regular season. However, the Lions could still address the position in the NFL draft, which would not help Rodriguez’s future with the team.
Nonetheless, Rodriguez has proven to be one of the unsung heroes of the Lions’ defense and has consistently proved himself since his rookie year (2022). He will likely have to do it again in 2025 after this latest move on the Lions’ defense.