Rod Wood has been president of the Detroit Lions for nearly a decade, and at this point he knows what works and what doesn't.
On Monday, just three days before the NFL Draft, Wood sat down at the Detroit Economic Club to discuss the Lions heading into the draft and what offseason moves they still want to make.
Here's what he had to say:
Hutchinson and Joseph extensions are almost certainly coming
Star defensive end Aidan Hutchinson and star safety Kerby Joseph are both entering their fourth year in Detroit, meaning they are due for extensions. These extensions will be pricey, as Hutchinson is one of the best players in the league, and Joseph is coming off an All-Pro season.
As Brad Holmes and Dan Campbell have repeatedly said, the Lions do not shy away from taking care of their own, and Wood agrees with that sentiment.
"[Hutchinson] will be here for the long haul, I can assure you that. We'll start working on that," said the Lions president. "We have a track record of extending our own players, which we've done that recently with Sewell, and St. Brown, and McNeill. I think that Hutch is likely to be coming up soon."
The challenge for the Lions now is managing to extend all of their rookie contract players without overpaying anybody. It's a tough task for any team, but a good problem to have because it means that you drafted very well.
Spotrac does a great job guiding fans through the salary cap and what teams will most likely have to pay for their players. Regarding Kerby Joseph, Spotrac predicts he will have a market value of $23.2 million per year, making him the highest-paid safety in the league.
Spotrac gets these numbers based on similar players' current contracts in comparison to their production on the field. For Aidan Hutchinson, Spotrac predicts he will get around $30.5 million annually for his next contract. This would make Hutchinson the fifth-highest-paid edge rusher in football.
Wood understands the difficulties of not just these extensions, but the next ones as well. Next year, Jahmyr Gibbs, Sam LaPorta, Jack Campbell, and Brian Branch will all be up for extensions, and it will be more than tough to pay everybody.
"That's going to be the challenge is we've built this great foundation of players and we've benefited with many of them being on rookie contracts," said Wood. "Now they're all becoming second contract players, which you have to plan for. We've been doing that for the last three years, we're ready to keep these guys here for the long haul."
Wood wants to bring the NFL Draft back to Detroit as soon as possible
The 2024 NFL Draft in Detroit was an absolute success, with huge crowds coming out for all three days of the draft. Whether it's because the Lions are good again, or the people of Detroit really craved a big event, people showed out.
"I knew that we would put on a great show for the whole country, and we exceeded expectations," said Rod Wood. "I'm trying to get the NFL to consider bringing it back, because I don't think they'll ever top it."
Wood has a wealth of confidence in his team and organization when it comes to the NFL, and it shows whenever he brags about the Lions and the city of Detroit. He mentioned the draft being in Green Bay this year, and took his chance to take a shot at the Packers.
"There's no way Green Bay will come close [to the Detroit draft]," Rod Wood said jokingly. "They'll finish third like they did last year."
The NFL seems to really enjoy the attention that the Lions are getting nationally. With the NFL reportedly considering giving the Lions Hard Knocks again, I wouldn't be shocked to see the draft come back to Detroit really soon.
