Two Detroit Lions Defensive Linemen Remain Under Contract in 2026

Why two Detroit Lions will still be under contract this upcoming NFL season.

Tennessee Titans quarterback Mason Rudolph (11) gets pulled to the ground by Detroit Lions defensive end Levi Onwuzurike (91) | Lon Horwedel-Imagn Images

Detroit Lions defensive linemen Levi Onwuzurike andn Josh Paschall will actually be under contract for the upcoming 2026 NFL season.

Provisions in the collective bargaining agreement allow for contracts to "toll" into the next season, if a player is in the final year of his contract, but ends up on the Physically Unable to Perform List.

Article 20, Section 2 is a provision of the CBA that states, "Any player placed on a Physically Unable to Perform list (“PUP”) will be paid his full Paragraph 5 Salary while on such list. His contract will not be tolled for the period he is on PUP, except in the last year of his contract, when the player’s contract will be tolled if (i) he is still physically unable to perform his football services as of the sixth regular season game; and (ii) he is not reinstated to the Club’s Active/Inactive List during that regular season or postseason. For the avoidance of doubt, if the player returns to practice, but is never reinstated to the Club’s Active/Inactive List during that regular season or postseason, his contract will toll."

In 2026, Onwuzurike has a base salary of $1,500,000 that is fully guaranteed. Last offseason, general manager Brad Holmes inked the former second-round pick to a one-year deal worth $4 million, which has bonuses that see the 27-year-old having the potential to earn a total of $5.5 million.

Detroit Lions defensive end Josh Paschal (93) celebrates a fumble recovery against Chicago Bears | Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Paschal, who missed a significant portion of the 2025 season with a back injury, did end up returning to practice, so his base salary of $1,000,000 is not guaranteed.

His contract is also tolled, but has the different contract terms, per the CBA.

Article 20, Section 3, Part B indicates, "A player on N-F/I who is in the final year of his contract (including an option year) will have his contract tolled. However, if the player is physically able to perform his football services on or before the sixth regular season game, the Club must pay the player his negotiated Paragraph 5 Salary (pro rata) for the balance of the season in order to toll such player’s contract. If such player is taken off N-F/I during the period when such action is allowed by League rules, his contract will not be tolled."

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