Derrick Barnes made his decision pretty easily.
Instead of testing the NFL free agent market, Barnes stayed loyal to the team that drafted him, recently agreeing to a three-year, $24 million dollar deal with the Detroit Lions.
A 2021 fourth round draft pick out of Purdue, the 2017 Holy Cross grad has decided to stay in Detroit after spending his first four seasons with the Lions.
The terms of Barnes’ deal include a $6.32 million signing bonus and $16 million guaranteed.
“I just feel like there’s unfinished business here,” Barnes told the media after signing his contract on March 10. “We didn’t make it as far as we wanted to last year but we have years to come of great football. My teammates, the coaches, the culture we’ve built here … I feel like everything is put together and you can’t find that at other places.”
Barnes missed the majority of the 2024 season after being injured in Week 3 against Arizona that required surgery and forced him to miss the rest of the year. He posted a careeer-high 81 tackles in 2023, five tackles for loss, five quarterback hits, a sack and a forced fumble. During the 2023 season, Barnes’ game-sealing interception in the Divisional round helped the Lions get to their first NFC Championship game since 1991. He’s a versatile piece of the Lions defense at linebacker and will enter the 2025 season with a clean bill of health.
Through his first four seasons with the Lions, Barnes has started in 26-of-51 games played and recorded 194 tackles (114 solo), 12 tackles for loss, eight quarterback hits, 4.0 sacks, four pass defenses and a forced fumble.
In his four years at Purdue, Barnes appeared in 41 games and made 30 starts, recording 226 tackles, 26 tackles for loss, 10.5 sacks, two forced fumbles and one interception. He was named Second Team All-Big Ten in 2020 and Honorable Mention All-Big Ten in 2019.
At Holy Cross, Barnes was a key piece of the 2016 Class 2A state semifinalist team with 126 tackles and forced four fumbles with three interceptions. He also played running back, tallying 1,567 yards and 22 touchdowns. He was a Second Team All-State selection by the Associated Press and Class 2A, 6th District Player of the Year voted on by the Kentucky Football Coaches Association.