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The Detroit Lions waited until the last minute, but they decided to keep the Okwara brothers intact for the 2021 season.
According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, the Lions and Romeo Okwara have agreed to a three-year deal worth $39 million. The structure of the deal is unknown yet, but if that number holds, Okwara’s $13 million per year average would place him around 22nd among edge rushers in the league, tied with Jadeveon Clowney and just above Jason Pierre-Paul ($12.5 million per year).
Okwara is coming off his best season to date, tallying 10.0 sacks on the year while finishing in the top 10 in most pressure rate statistics. At just 25 years old, Okwara still has a lot of good football ahead of him, and for the next three years, it appears that football will stay in Detroit.
For all the latest free agency news and rumors, check out our 2021 tracker.
UPDATE: Chris Burke of The Athletic has more details on the deal, noting that it’s worth “up to $39 million with incentives.”
Can confirm the Romeo Okwara re-signing. The deal is worth up to $39M with incentives, according to a league source, so we'll see how the final numbers land. Still could be fairly team-friendly in 2021.
— Chris Burke (@ChrisBurkeNFL) March 15, 2021
UPDATE 2: More contract details
More details on Romeo Okwara's three-year, $39 million deal with the #Lions:
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) March 15, 2021
* $14M signing bonus
* $26M over the first 2 years
* $20M fully guaranteed at signing
* Another $5M guaranteed for injury that becomes fully guaranteed next March
Indicative of his strong market.
UPDATE 3: The Lions have made it official at the beginning of the new league year.
#Lions have signed DE Romeo Okwara (@RomeoND45) to a contract extension.
— Detroit Lions (@Lions) March 17, 2021
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