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Detroit Lions sign Kerby Joseph to new contract as highest-paid safety ever
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- Detroit Lions sign Kerby Joseph to new contract as highest-paid safety ever
Kerby Joseph has more interceptions than anyone in the NFL since he entered the league in 2022, and on Wednesday, the Detroit Lions rewarded him for his work.
The Lions made Joseph the highest-paid safety in NFL history, reportedly signing him to a four-year, $86 million extension that ties him to the team through 2029. The deal, first reported by Fox Sports , carries an average annual value of $21.5 million, though the guaranteed money is not known. The reported value moves Joseph ahead of Tampa Bay Buccaneers safety Antoine Winfield Jr. , who signed a four-year, $84.1 million deal ahead of the 2024 season.
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Joseph had a career-high and league-leading nine interceptions last season and four picks in each of his first two years. He was snubbed from the Pro Bowl in 2024, but was named first-team All-Pro.
Detroit Lions safety Kerby Joseph (31) celebrates an interception against San Francisco 49ers during the second half at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif. on Monday, Dec. 30, 2024.
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"I don't know how you don't make the Pro Bowl with nine interceptions, whatever that is, but he's an All-Pro player and he's been — he's another one that's gotten better and better," Lions general manager Brad Holmes said after the season. "So he's one that has proven that he's a Detroit Lion, he fits our culture. It's hard to find ballhawk guys that will tackle like how he does, and I think that's what makes him unique."
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A third-round pick out of Illinois in 2022, Joseph joins a long list of homegrown talent the Lions are in the process of signing to long-term contract extensions.
Last year, the Lions signed 2021 draft picks Penei Sewell , Amon-Ra St. Brown and Alim McNeill , plus offensive stars Jared Goff and David Montgomery , to multi-year extensions, and the team is currently in talks with 2022 first-round pick Aidan Hutchinson about a new deal that could make him the highest-paid non-quarterback in the NFL.
Next year, 2023 draft picks Jahmyr Gibbs , Jack Campbell , Brian Branch and Sam LaPorta will be extension-eligible for the first time.
Joseph has been a cornerstone defensive player for the Lions since early in his rookie season. He led the team in interceptions in 2022-23, and his first two career picks marked a turning point the franchise in its rebuild under Holmes and head coach Dan Campbell.
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The Lions went 3-13-1 in 2021 and started 1-6 in 2022 before beating the Green Bay Packers, 15-9 , in a Week 9 game at Ford Field. Joseph had 10 tackles and two interceptions in the game, both in the red zone. He picked off Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers for a third time in 2022 in a season-ending win that clinched the Lions' first winning season since 2017. The pass turned out to be the last of Rodgers' career with the Packers.
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The Lions, winners of two straight NFC North titles and coming off a franchise-best 15-win season, will enter this fall as one of the Super Bowl favorites in the NFC. They return 10 starters from the league's highest-scoring offense and have arguably the NFL's best safety tandem in Joseph and Branch.
Joseph has played primarily as a free safety during his career, while Branch moves all around the field from the slot to the deep post to playing as an extra box defender. Branch was picked for the Pro Bowl last season.
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"Kerby makes the middle of the field a scary place," Lions safeties coach Jim O'Neil said last year . "Like usually most safeties don't have both. They usually don't make it scary on quarterbacks, ball's in the air, he's going to get it, and then they make it scary on ball carriers where he's going to knock the hell out of them. And he's one of the few that I've been around that possesses both those characteristics so I have full trust in him."
Joseph, 25 and one of the Lions' most gregarious players, joined Darius Slay (in 2017, tied) and Glover Quin (in 2014) as the only Lions to lead the NFL in interceptions in the past 50 years.
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: Kerby Joseph contract: Lions make him highest-paid safety
