There is no doubt in anyone's mind that Penei Sewell is the very best right tackle in the NFL. The first team All-Pro had a masterful year for the Lions that saw him allow just one sack all year and only 20 pressures. He was electric and everyone saw it.
It's still crazy that he is just 23-years old at this point. The Lions, if they play their cards right, are set to have a generational talent blocking for their quarterback for a long time.
It's almost time for the Lions to start playing those cards by the way. The 2021 first round pick is nearing the time when the Lions are going to have to start negotiating a contract that should more than likely make Sewell the highest paid tackle in football. It's the price of being good at drafting guys. At some point you have to pay them.
The good news is that the Lions don't need to hurry on this because they can get Sewell a major pay day if they pick up his fifth-year option.
The fifth-year option is a fully guaranteed year that teams can offer their first round picks after the third season of their career. The amount a player could get is based off a few different things. Pro Bowl's and playing time being big factors here. If a player makes the Pro Bowl on the original ballot one time, their fifth-year option will match the cost of the transition tag. If they make it twice, the value of their fifth-year option becomes the cost of the franchise tag.
Sewell was voted in on the original ballot this season, but was an alternate last year. So the value of his fifth year option comes out to the value of the transition tag and that's $19,718,000. That's all guaranteed and would lock Sewell up until 2025.
This does not stop the Lions from being able to work on a new long term contract with Sewell though. They can still get that done despite the fifth-year option. But that option can help them both get Sewell paid big and make sure they lock up some other extensions first before they get Sewell his big deal.
We'll see what the Lions decide to do. The window to pick up fifth-year options opened on January 8th and closes on May 2nd. The Lions have until then to make their decision.
More must-reads: