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Should Detroit Lions give James Ihedigbo a raise?

By Brian Spaen

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Detroit Lions safety James Ihedigbo isn’t happy heading into this season. After having great results last year, he believes he’s outperformed his contract and deserves a raise. Should the Lions give him an upgrade or release him from his contract?

Reports say that Ihedigbo won’t be going to voluntary workouts beginning on April 20th. Through his agent, Marc Lillibridge, he just wants to get paid what he’s deserved when, in comparison, the NFL will get rid of players when they don’t live up to their potential (via Detroit Free-Press).

"“He’s looking for a new contract,” Lillibridge said. “The NFL’s notorious for if a player doesn’t play up to his contract they’ll cut him, yet they want a guy who outplays his contract, very rarely gets rewarded.”"

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Ihedigbo had the second-most tackles in his career with the Lions last year with 71 total (12 assists), but the argument of having his best season ever is in career-highs in forced fumbles (3), interceptions (4), and stuffs (7) along with eight pass deflections.

These last two seasons have actually been significantly better than the rest of Ihedigbo’s career. Prior to 2013, he didn’t record an interception and forced just one fumble and two pass deflections. He began his career with the New York Jets in 2008 for three years before heading to the New England Patriots in 2011 for a season. He then began his two-year stint with the Baltimore Ravens in 2012.

Ihedigbo is currently 31 years old and is set to receive $1.6 million of his $3.1 million contract. Last year, he was listed as an alternate for the Pro Bowl for the first time in his career.

Here’s the issue for Ihedigbo. According to the Detroit Lions’ official website, the team may find enough value in the strong safety backup for similar money, and Ihedigbo will have to find a resolution for the issue by mid-June or he could face the loss of money or even a job.

"What could further complicate this standoff? The Lions are very happy with the performance of Ihedigbo’s backup, Isa Abdul-Quddus, who signed a one-year, $1.5 million contract earlier this offseason.Ihedigbo will have to report to a mandatory minicamp June 16-18, or he could face possible discipline from the team."

In comparison, Abdul-Quddus started in four games last season and recorded 22 total tackles (12 assists) and one pass deflection. He’s significantly younger than Ihedigbo at the current age of 25.

However, directly comparing Ihedigbo to Abdul-Quddus is tough when looking at just a backup. How is Ihedigbo getting paid compared to the rest of the field? Kyle Meinke of MLive does the research and clearly shows that he is getting underpaid. He is 40th with that $1.6 million compared to the following players:

"Minnesota’s Harrison Smith, the league’s No. 2 safety last year according to ProFootballFocus, is 56th in compensation among safeties this year. Cleveland’s Tashaun Gipson, the 10th best safety, is 32nd in compensation. New England’s Patrick Chung, the No. 12 safety, is 62nd in compensation. Cincinnati’s George Iloka, the No. 12 safety, is 42nd in compensation."

It all comes back to age though. The Lions could just avoid the drama and trust their backup to perform at a higher level. Fault comes to Ihedigbo’s side for not receiving a better contract in the beginning. One can understand the strong safety trying to get paid more, but he didn’t have overwhelming numbers and he may have already peaked.

The Lions simply shouldn’t succumb to the demands. If they can’t talk Ihedigbo to wait until after this season and potentially resigning with the team, then it might be in both’s interest to part ways.

Next: Detroit Lions: Eric Ebron and the second-year leap

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