Lions sign defensive tackle Alim McNeill to contract extension

DETROIT — The Detroit Lions continue to lock up their guys early and often.

After signing running back David Montgomery to a two-year contract extension on Saturday, the Lions signed defensive tackle Alim McNeill to a four-year extension on Tuesday, according to his agent, Mike McCartney.

The deal is worth $97 million, including $55 million guaranteed, according to NFL insider Albert Breer. That makes McNeill the fourth-highest-paid defensive tackle in the league behind Nnamdi Madubuike (Baltimore Ravens), Christian Wilkins (Las Vegas Raiders) and Chris Jones (Kansas City Chiefs), all of whom are at least three years older than the 24-year-old McNeill.

McNeill is in the fourth and final season of his rookie deal. He was a third-round pick by Detroit (No. 72) in the 2021 NFL draft. He has 2.5 sacks this season on 16 pressures.

The Lions have now locked up six core pieces — including quarterback Jared Goff, Montgomery, offensive tackles Penei Sewell and Taylor Decker, and wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown — since the start of last season.

Three of the six extensions are from the 2021 draft class, general manager Brad Holmes' first in Detroit, and the primary building block for the team's current successful run. Sewell (first round, No. 7) and St. Brown (fourth round, No. 112) earned First-Team All-Pro honors last season.

"We have to get past looking for the most talented player. ... That's what made us who we are, and that's what I was saying about that 2021 class," Holmes said back in February. "That was very intentional to find those guys that have the intangibles."

McNeill is one of the few players whose development in the NFL has followed a linear trajectory. He took massive strides in his first and second years before enjoying a breakout season in 2023 (43 pressures, five sacks, 32 tackles) despite missing four games with a knee injury.

"When it comes to Mac, he was growing at a rapid pace last year until he got the injury when he was out like four games and whatnot," Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn said in the leadup to Week 1. "Then he played...in the playoffs, and you saw those flashes of him being a dominant player."

McNeill's extension has been on the horizon for some time now. When Holmes casually broke the news of Decker's extension during a training camp radio interview, he also dropped the nugget that McNeill was one of the players up next on his list.

McNeill arguably played his best game of the season in Sunday's 47-9 win over the Dallas Cowboys at AT&T Stadium, where he had two sacks on a season-high seven pressures. McNeill has had dominant pass-rush performances in back-to-back weeks; he had six pressures and half a sack in the team's Week 4 win over Seattle.

Lions head coach Dan Campbell named McNeill one of the players he expects to step up in the absence of Aidan Hutchinson, who suffered a broken tibia and fibula in the blowout victory against the Cowboys.

"He was a man on a mission before the bye, coming out, and he was locked in this week. His mind was right, and he was going to be a factor in this game and that's what we expect every week out of Mac, is just that," Campbell said. "So yeah, how much (will we rely on him)? A lot. And he's one of those guys we're going to lean on. He doesn't have to be Superman, but we've got to get that out of him every week, and he's got that ability."

Lions linebacker Alex Anzalone called it a "statement game."

"The sacks weren't coming his way earlier in the year. Coming into this game, he had a feeling, we had a feeling, that he was going to be a difference maker and get those stats up," Anzalone said.