The Detroit Lions face a number of important decisions regarding players eligible for new contracts in 2025.
One key group under consideration is the 2022 Draft class, which includes safety Kerby Joseph, who led the NFL in interceptions with nine and received First-Team All-Pro honors from the Associated Press.
As Joseph enters the final year of his rookie contract, general manager Brad Holmes shared an update on the situation following the conclusion of the season last weekend.
Holmes acknowledged that the team has yet to enter serious discussions about a new deal for Joseph, but emphasized that the Illinois product has proven his value to the organization.
“That’s on the docket, in terms of to be looked at and discussed. We know where he’s at from an eligibility (standpoint). I mean, he’s an All-Pro player,” Holmes stated. “I don’t know how you don’t make the Pro Bowl with nine interceptions, whatever that is. He’s an All-Pro player, and he’s another one that’s gotten better and better, and he’s another one that’s proven he’s a Detroit Lion. He fits, he fits our culture. It’s hard to find ball-hawk guys that will tackle how he does. I think that’s what makes him unique. Again, we haven’t had intense dialogue about that yet, but obviously we want to keep the good players here.”
Holmes also addressed the expiring contracts of veterans Kevin Zeitler, an offensive lineman, and cornerback Carlton Davis during his nearly 30-minute media session.
Zeitler, who joined the Lions on a one-year, $6 million deal this past offseason, played well but will be 35 next season. While age could influence his future, Holmes was impressed by the veteran guard’s performance.
“I thought Zeitler did a good job this year. It’s different when you’re changing completely different schemes and early on, he had to get used to how we were doing things,” Holmes explained. “But once he got adjusted into that, I thought he did a really good job. A player of that age, you just have to have conversations with him. We had conversations on exit day, and then we’ll continue to have dialogue and just kind of see where it goes.”
Davis, who was acquired in a trade with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in March, started 13 games and secured the role of Detroit’s CB1 before suffering a season-ending fractured jaw in the loss to the Buffalo Bills.
Holmes praised Davis for exceeding expectations compared to his previous season in Tampa, noting that, like Joseph, no serious contract talks have taken place yet.
“I thought we got very good play from him. I will be honest, I thought he played better this year than he did the year before, that last year in Tampa,” Holmes said. “He’ll tell you that too. I thought we got what we wanted to get, unfortunate that we had to lose him (to injury) and be without him. But we’re aware of, not just Carlton and Zeitler, but we’re aware of a lot of other guys that are either on expiring contracts or guys that had good contributions to our team this year or guys that are worthy for extensions or in consideration for extensions. No intense action yet, but we’re very aware of it.”
