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As rookies report to minicamp for their first taste of NFL practice, news is surfacing of the Lions officially inking their draft talent to contracts. According to the Detroit Free Press’ Dave Birkett, first-round pick Jarrad Davis was the first to sign his deal:
The Lions have signed first-round pick Jarrad Davis to his 4-year contract. Davis is expected to start at MLB this fall.
— Dave Birkett (@davebirkett) May 12, 2017
The official figure of dollars and cents in the deal have yet to be announced, but Forbes projected Davis’ contract to earn him $10.9 million with a signing bonus just north of $6 million.
As alluded to in Birkett’s tweet, Davis figures to be the solution at middle linebacker for Detroit in the 2017 season. After struggling to keep healthy at the position, cultivating some depth at linebacker was a point of emphasis for the Lions this offseason. In addition to Davis, Detroit drafted Jalen Reeves-Maybin from Tennessee with one of their fourth-round selections, and signed veterans Paul Worrilow and Nick Bellore during free agency.
In four years at Florida, Davis worked his way from special teams to starting linebacker by his junior season. Davis finished his collegiate career with 201 tackles, 20.0 tackles for loss, 5.5 sacks and an interception.
We’ll keep you updated here at Pride Of Detroit once those figures are released for Davis’ four-year deal.