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LB Derrick Barnes agrees to 3-year deal with Detroit Lions, avoids free agency
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- LB Derrick Barnes agrees to 3-year deal with Detroit Lions, avoids free agency
Derrick Barnes did a little bit of everything for the Detroit Lions ' defense last fall — well enough in a small sample size that the team didn't want to risk losing him to free agency next week.
The Lions agreed to a new three-year contract with Barnes on Friday, locking up another one of their core young players and homegrown draft picks.
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The extension is worth $25.5 million total and includes $16 million guaranteed, a person familiar with the deal but not authorized to discuss it publicly told the Free Press.
LB Derrick Barnes holds a puppy that's been adopted during the Pride Unleashed event during the Detroit Lions training camp at their headquarters in Allen Park on Monday, Aug. 1, 2024.
A fourth-round pick from Purdue in 2021, Barnes emerged as a full-time starter in 2023 and was ticketed for a do-it-all role at strongside linebacker last season before he tore the MCL and PCL in his right knee in a Week 3 win over the Arizona Cardinals .
Barnes missed the rest of the season, but was cleared by Lions doctors last month.
More: Darius Slay would 'love' to return to Lions; Carlton Davis on his way out in free agency?
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"Everything was just starting to come along, but I'm still, when I get my body right, I'll have full confidence in myself and how my body will respond," Barnes said in November. "I know my mental still will be there. I still go through the playbook a little bit and make sure I still got it and it's still there. So no, everything's going to be good. And however long that takes, it's still going to work out."
Barnes said late in the season he hoped to stay in Detroit as a free agent, and Lions coach Dan Campbell and defensive coordinator Kelvin Sheppard , the team's linebackers coach in 2021-23, recruited Barnes heavily to stay in recent weeks.
Barnes made a career-high 81 tackles in 2023 and had 10 tackles in three games last season before his injury. He played both as an off-ball linebacker and edge rusher last season, and bounced around the front seven based on what defensive package the Lions had on the field.
"Everything you see D-Barnes getting and doing on the field, he's earned it," Sheppard said in September. "I mean, this guy's playing five positions right now, in game. Not like in practice, in a backup-type role, in game he's now playing five live positions within a game and he does not bat an eye. And for a guy to come from where he has in 2021, man, I credit that kid and his trajectory right now is literally pointing north."
Detroit Lions defensive lineman Mathieu Betts (95) and linebacker Derrick Barnes (55) practices during mini camp at Detroit Lions headquarters and practice facility in Allen Park on Tuesday, June 4, 2024.
With Barnes, 25, back in the fold, the Lions will return at least eight of their 11 primary defensive starters from last season and all four of their top linebackers, including Jack Campbell , Alex Anzalone and Malcolm Rodriguez , who is recovering from a torn ACL.
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Restricted free agent Anthony Pittman also is expected to re-sign before the start of free agency, though the Lions plan to release special teams linebacker Jalen Reeves-Maybin next week.
The Lions are coming off a 15-2 season that ended with a divisional round playoff loss to the Washington Commanders . They have 14 unrestricted free agents on the defensive side of the ball , including starting cornerback Carlton Davis III, oft-injured defensive end Marcus Davenport and versatile defensive lineman Levi Onwuzurike .
The Lions tried to re-sign Onwuzurike before the start of last season to no avail, Davis could be too pricey for the team to retain in free agency, and Davenport has said he hopes to return to Detroit but the Lions could go another direction because of his injury history.
The free agent negotiating period begins Monday, and free agents can sign with other teams starting 4 p.m. Wednesday.
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The Lions have prioritized re-signing their own young players and free agents in recent years and are expected to follow that blueprint again this offseason with Aidan Hutchinson and Kerby Joseph in line for extensions that could make them the highest-paid players at their position in the NFL.
Last year, the Lions re-signed Jared Goff , Amon-Ra St. Brown , Penei Sewell , Alim McNeill and David Montgomery to extensions. Like Barnes, St. Brown, Sewell and McNeill were part of the Lions' 2021 draft, their first under Campbell and general manager Brad Holmes.
Dave Birkett is the author of the book, " Detroit Lions : An Illustrated Timeline."
Order your copy here .
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Contact him at dbirkett@freepress.com . Follow him on Bluesky , X and Instagram at @davebirkett.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: LB Derrick Barnes agrees to 3-year deal with Detroit Lions
