NFL Rumors: Penei Sewell, Lions Agree to $112M Contract to be Highest-Paid OL Ever
Joseph Zucker@@JosephZucker
Featured Columnist IVApril 24, 2024
The Detroit Lions and All-Pro right tackle Penei Sewell agreed to terms on a four-year, $112 million contract extension Wednesday, according to NFL Network's Mike Garafolo.
The deal, which features $85 million guaranteed, will make Sewell the highest-paid offensive lineman in NFL history.
There was little doubt as to whether the Lions would keep the 23-year-old under team control for 2025 after he earned his second straight Pro Bowl nod.
Sewell not only started all 17 games for Detroit but was also on the field for every offensive snap. Thanks in part to his presence on the right side, the team averaged the fifth-most yards per carry (4.6) and allowed the fourth-fewest sacks (31).
Pro Football Focus named Sewell their best offensive lineman of the 2023 season.
"Sewell's 93.1 PFF run-blocking grade is one of the best single-season grades ever earned by an offensive lineman, trailing the likes of Trent Williams at his very peak," PFF's Sam Monson wrote. "Sewell was a monster for the Lions in the run game all year long and was no slouch in pass protection, either. He allowed 20 pressures across 17 games."
PFF NFL Podcast @PFFNFLPodPenei Sewell was a BEAST for the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Lions?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Lions</a> this year 😮💨<a href="https://twitter.com/PFF_Sam?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@PFF_Sam</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/TampaBayTre?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@TampaBayTre</a> <a href="https://t.co/Ae5mZhuy32">pic.twitter.com/Ae5mZhuy32</a>
Many thought the Lions were fortunate to have the former Oregon star fall into their laps with the No. 7 overall pick in 2021, and he has more than lived up to the hype. He has also come to symbolize the mindset head coach Dan Campbell sought to instill from the moment he was hired.
"I can't say enough great things about Sewell," Campbell told reporters during the 2023 offseason. "There's a reason he was the first pick we had two years ago because we wanted to build around a guy like him. He's our foundation. He's one of those pillars that we talk about. He's something else. He's a man on a mission. I feel like we're a team on a mission, but he is a man on a mission."
The stage remains set for Sewell to potentially take over for Taylor Decker as the starting left tackle, especially after seeing the money that was doled out Wednesday.
Decker is entering the final year of his deal with the Lions, so there could be a void on the left side of their line as early as 2025.