Detroit Lions to cut special teams star Jalen Reeves-Maybin
INDIANAPOLIS — A year after they signed him to the richest special-teams contract in NFL history, the Detroit Lions are parting ways with Jalen Reeves-Maybin in a cost-cutting move.
The Lions informed Reeves-Maybin they plan to release him before the start of the 2025 league year March 12, a person informed of the decision told the Free Press on Thursday.
Reeves-Maybin was scheduled to count $4.75 million against the cap next season and was due a $500,000 roster bonus. By cutting him, the Lions will save about $2 million in cap room.
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The Lions currently sit abut $51 million under next year's $279.2 million salary cap, and general manager Brad Holmes reiterated this week the team is hoping to lock up more of its young cornerstone players to long-term contracts in the near future.
Defensive end Aidan Hutchinson, wide receiver Jameson Williams and safety Kerby Joseph are eligible for extensions this spring for the first time, and the Lions hope to re-sign several of their own free agents, including linebacker Derrick Barnes and defensive tackle Levi Onwuzurike.
Reeves-Maybin, the NFL Players Association president, signed a two-year, $8 million deal with the Lions last spring after earning second-team All-Pro honors as a special teams player.
He missed seven games with a serious neck injury this season, averaged about 15 snaps a game as an extra linebacker on defense and turned 30 in January. He told the Free Press at the Super Bowl earlier this month he was excited to play for new Lions defensive coordinator Kelvin Sheppard.
"I know he has dreams of being a head coach and it's our job to make sure we go out there and make sure his defense look good and hopefully he'll be a head coach one day," Reeves-Maybin said.
The Lions return starting linebackers Alex Anzalone and Jack Campbell and top backup Malcolm Rodriguez for 2025, and could re-sign Barnes, who is coming off a season-ending knee injury. Special-teams linebackers Zeke Turner and Ben Niemann will be unrestricted free agents next month, backup Anthony Pittman is a restricted free agent and Trevor Nowaske is an exclusive rights free agent.
Dave Birkett is the author of the book, "Detroit Lions: An Illustrated Timeline."
Order your copy here.
Contact him at dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on Bluesky, X and Instagram at @davebirkett.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Lions to cut linebacker Jalen Reeves-Maybin for cap space
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