The Lions and linebacker Derrick Barnes have agreed to a three-year, $25.5 million extension, a source told ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, with $16 million of the deal fully guaranteed at signing.
Barnes was limited to just three games last season after suffering a knee injury in a Week 3 win over the Arizona Cardinals. It was the first time in Barnes’ four seasons in the NFL that he failed to play at least 15 games.
With this move, the Lions commit to another one of the foundational players from the beginning of general manager Brad Holmes and head coach Dan Campbell’s Detroit tenure in 2021.
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Barnes was taken in the fourth round (113th overall) of the 2021 NFL draft by the Lions and has proven to be a key member of the defense on and off the field.
Detroit also on Friday agreed to re-sign veteran linebacker Anthony Pittman, a source told Fowler. Pittman played for the Lions from 2019-23 before joining the Washington Commanders (2024) and then the Jacksonville Jaguars. He returned to the Lions in December when he was signed off the Jags’ practice squad.
The Lions have also locked down their linebacker core with Barnes, Jack Campbell and Alex Anzalone. New Lions defensive coordinator Kelvin Sheppard previously coached the linebackers for the past two seasons and was the outside linebackers coach in 2021 for Detroit, where he developed a strong relationship with Barnes.
In four NFL seasons, the former Purdue star has started in 26 of his 51 appearances, logging 194 total tackles with four sacks and eight QB hits.
