Former Tennessee Vol linebacker Jalen Reeves-Maybin is ready to make another playoff run in the Motor City.
The Detroit Lions announced on Monday that linebacker and veteran specialist Jalen Reeves-Maybin signed a two-year contract extension through the 2025 season.
The two-year contract extension is worth up to $8 million in total, making the former Vol the NFL’s “highest-paid core special teams player,” according to ESPN’s Eric Woodyard.
“He’s the best special teams player in the league,” head coach Dan Campbell said of Reeves-Maybin, according to a tweet from Woodyard.
Dan Campbell on Jalen Reeves-Maybin: “He’s the best special teams player in the league.”
Campbell called his extension “huge” as a core player for the #Lions. “He’s a vital part of what we do,” Campbell said. “He is part of the foundation in my opinion.”
— Eric Woodyard (@E_Woodyard) February 27, 2024
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After being drafted in the fourth round of the 2017 NFL Draft, Reeves-Maybin spent his first five years in the league with the Lions. The former Vol spent time as both a reserve linebacker and specialist during his first four years but stepped up and into a starting role during the 2021 season. Reeves-Maybin would head south to Houston to play with the Texans during the 2022 season but returned to Detroit after just one year away in 2023.
In addition to earning a team captain role before the season, Reeves-Maybin was also selected to his first career Pro Bowl and the AP Second Team All-Pro roster in 2024.
Jalen Reeves-Maybin, a native of Clarksville, TN, had an impactful four-year career on Rocky Top from 2013-2016. The former Northeast High School (Clarksville, TN) letterman racked up 240 tackles, eight sacks, one interception, and four forced fumbles during his four-year career in Knoxville.
