Should the Lions Re-Sign LB Jalen Reeves-Maybin?
Linebacker Jalen Reeves-Maybin has emerged on to the scene in his fifth season as a pro.
Reeves-Maybin, who entered the league in 2017 as a fourth-round draft pick of the Lions, was used almost exclusively as a special teams contributor until this year.
In fact, the University of Tennessee product had started just three games in his career prior to the start of the 2021 campaign. Those starts all came in 2019, when he played in 26 percent of the defensive snaps (297 total).
However, Detroit’s early season release of veteran linebacker Jamie Collins -- just three weeks into the season -- necessitated a bigger every-down role for the special teams ace in Reeves-Maybin.
Since Collins was cut (after the Lions’ Week 3 loss to the Baltimore Ravens), Reeves-Maybin has played in at least 40 percent of the defensive snaps, and has started in nine of the 10 games he’s suited up for.
The 26-year-old has logged snaps in 13 total games in 2021, missing time in Weeks 13 and 14 with a shoulder injury.
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Since returning to the field in Week 15 against the Arizona Cardinals, the Tennessee native has amassed 13 total tackles, three passes defensed and a forced fumble. Not too shabby for a player that was basically deemed to be nothing more than a special teams performer by Detroit’s previous regime, led by Matt Patricia and Bob Quinn.
The team’s new head coach, Dan Campbell, has been very complimentary of the linebacker’s play all year long, and went so far as referring to him as one of the Lions’ most valuable players this season.
Reeves-Maybin’s name, in fact, was the first one that Campbell uttered when talking about the team’s most reliable players earlier this week.
“Look, there are a number of guys, but I mean certainly -- one of the first ones that pops in my head is Jalen Reeves-Maybin,” Campbell said. “And, I know he missed a couple of games here due to injury, but when he’s been out there on defense and on special teams, he makes plays. He’s a football player. That doesn’t go unnoticed.”
Reeves-Maybin, who is presently playing on a one-year contract, has produced career-high marks in total tackles (67), passes defensed (four) and forced fumbles (two).
While he’ll never be mistaken for a Pro Bowl-caliber player, I believe that the former Volunteers standout has proven that he can contribute to an NFL organization as a solid rotational linebacker.
If I’m Detroit general manager Brad Holmes, I’m looking to re-sign Reeves-Maybin to a cost-effective, two-year deal this offseason.
