Lions open to contract extensions before injured stars return to play

The Detroit Lions are open to long-term extensions with a pair of their injured stars before either makes their official returns to play next season.

According to Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press, Lions president Rod Wood said that Detroit wouldn't necessarily need to see how either Brian Branch or Sam LaPorta look in their returns to the field before finalizing long-term contract extensions.

In a pre-NFL draft event on Thursday for the Detroit Economic Club, Wood said that the Lions hope to sign all four of its top 2023 draft picks to extensions this offseason. That group includes running back Jahmyr Gibbs, linebacker Jack Campbell, safety Brian Branch and tight end Sam LaPorta.

"They’re all going to be in the building soon. Guys start showing up next week, so once we get an assessment of how they’re doing, it doesn’t mean they have to play before we would do an extension. We had a similar situation with Hutch a couple years ago, with him coming off his injury, and we were in active discussions with him beginning in training camp but it took some time because it’s a big deal.

"These may take time cause they’re big deals, not because of the injury. But we’ll look at their health and that’ll be factored into how we approach it but the plan is now to try and keep all these guys that we’ve drafted," Wood said.

LaPorta was limited to just nine games last season and wound up undergoing a season-ending back surgery. Meanwhile, Branch tore the Achilles tendon in his right leg on Dec. 4 in a win over the Dallas Cowboys.

Wood pointed to the organization's recent history of signing its cornerstone stars such as Aidan Hutchinson, Jared Goff, Penei Sewell, Amon-Ra St. Brown, Jameson Williams and Kerby Joseph to long-term extensions.

"You talk about free agency and trades, every team says they want to draft well, develop their guys and re-sign them, and we're one of the only teams that is doing that. And generally, we've re-signed guys a little early, which means we've got them done and got that behind us and generally got it at a decent pay scale, relative to what it might have been had you waited a year to get it done," Wood said.

Wood declined to say Thursday if the team could finalize any extensions before the draft next week. But, Branch and LaPorta's season-ending injuries won't keep the team from potentially finalizing extensions this offseason.

"Obviously with Sam and Brian, they’re coming back from injuries so you want to make sure they’re healthy," Wood said. "Jack and Gibbs are first-round players so we have the option of a fifth-round option year for them. So we’re taking all that into account. We have a plan and unfortunately I don’t intend to announce it here."

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This article originally appeared on Lions Wire: Lions open to contract extensions before injured stars return to play