Jack Campbell Just Made the Most Lions Move Ever (And We Love Him for It)
Jack Campbell could have broken the bank. Hell, he should have broken the bank. Coming off a First-Team All Pro season where he finished second among all NFL linebackers in tackles and second in PFF grade, the 25-year-old had every reason to chase Fred Warner’s three-year, $63 million deal and make himself the highest-paid linebacker in football.
Instead, he took four years and $81 million from Brad Holmes. That’s $20.5 million per year. Just a hair under Warner’s $21 million average and barely more than what Roquan Smith got three years ago.
Why? Because Jack Campbell is apparently too good for this world.
Home Is Where the Heart Is (And the Reasonable Contracts)
“The number one thing for me through this whole entire process was to remain a Lion because I want to be a part of this,” Campbell said Wednesday. “I want to be a part of this organization. Me and my wife absolutely love it here. People have just been so nice to us and it just feels like home.”
Stop it. Just stop it right there. After decades of watching players treat Detroit like a layover on their way to somewhere better, we get a first-round pick who wants to stay because people are nice to him?
This is not the Detroit Lions we grew up watching. This is something else entirely.
Elite Category Without Elite Greed
Campbell knows exactly what he did, too. “Let’s be realistic here, I already have more than enough,” he said. “So, for me, it was more about the principle of I just want to be in the elite category because I feel like I’m an elite linebacker.”
Elite category without breaking the team’s cap flexibility. Smart money says Holmes is somewhere in Allen Park right now trying not to cry tears of joy.
And because Campbell is apparently part golden retriever, he felt the need to apologize to his fellow linebackers around the league. “I don’t need to be the highest-paid, even though the guys around the league would probably appreciate that because it bumps up everything else, so I’m sorry to them.”
The Campbell Effect
Look, money was still a factor. Campbell’s not playing for peanuts here. But giving Holmes that extra breathing room to keep building around him and the rest of this defense? That’s the kind of move that championship cores are built on.
“I want to help the team in any way possible, just to continue to keep the core together,” Campbell said. “At the end of the day, I feel like it was fair for the team, and I’m more than happy with everything that they’ve blessed me with.”
Fair for the team. From a first-round pick coming off an All Pro season. In Detroit. After watching this franchise waste talent for decades because they couldn’t figure out how to build a complete roster around their best players.
Jack Campbell just handed Brad Holmes the blueprint for keeping this thing together. And he did it because Detroit feels like home.
Is this what it feels like when your franchise players actually want to be franchise players, or are we all having the same fever dream? Let us know what you think below.
