DeAndre Levy: Price is better than right for Detroit Lions

By Kevin Parvizi | Aug 6, 2015

When the Seattle Seahawks gave a new deal to star middle linebacker Bobby Wagner, I wrote that it was an obvious move to make despite the fact that it causes them to commit even more money to a select group of players on the roster. For the Detroit Lions, the decision to extend star 4-3 outside linebacker DeAndre Levy was an even bigger no-brainer, because even though Wagner is plenty important to the Seahawks, Levy’s importance to the Lions is even more pronounced, especially after Ndamukong Suh‘s departure to the Miami Dolphins.

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Lavonte David will “get his” from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and he’s a younger player who deserves to be the highest-paid 4-3 outside linebacker in the league. But we all knew Levy’s contract would set the market before then, and he is indeed the second highest-paid 4-3 OLB in the game right now (but he should technically be the highest, since the No. 1 4-3 OLB’s contract lasts just two seasons).

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The NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reports that Levy’s four-year extension is worth a total of $33.72 million with $20 million in guarantees, which is nothing to sneeze at. That $8.43 million per year makes him paid well-above Seahawks weak-side LB K.J. Wright, and only six 3-4 OLBs are paid more. Carolina Panthers recently extended LB Thomas Davis makes more per year, but his contract is an unfair comparison due to the fact that it’s an $18 million deal over just two seasons.

Locking up Levy carries some risk due to the guaranteed money involved, but considering that he’s missed just two games over the past four seasons, there’s very little risk involved. Throwing aside Davis’s contract, Levy would be the highest-paid player at his position, and, no, not all outside linebackers are equal.

Levy is in his peak years at the age of 28, and his ability to play inside or outside ensures that he will remain a key component of this Lions defense throughout the life of his deal. Glover Quin Jr. and Darius Slay are key players for the Lions, but Levy is by far Detroit’s most indispensable player on that side of the ball. He does it all, and he’s only gotten better with age.

Let’s take a look at last seasons numbers, shall we? Levy recorded a career-high 151 tackles with 2.5 sacks and five passes defended a year after establishing himself as an elite coverage LB with 15 PDs in 2013. An all-action player who makes an elite impact against the run and pass, Levy is a rare breed, and that’s what made it so important for Martin Mayhew and the Lions to lock him up early and at whatever cost.

Honestly, I could have seen Levy making over $9 million per year, because Wagner will make over $10 million per seasons for the Seahawks. But since the Lions cap situation is just as precarious as Seattle’s, I wonder if Levy, who is this team’s most important locker room voice, decided to take a home-town discount as the star and QB of this defense through his best seasons.

Of course, maybe DeAndre Levy decided that $20 million in guarantees would be good enough for him, because that’s just $1 million less in guaranteed money than what Washington Redskins recently extended 3-4 OLB Ryan Kerrigan will make in his five-year contract.

By saying with the Lions, Levy is minimizing his own risk, because he’s taking “the bird in the hand” and staying with an organization that loves him, values him, has a great defensive coordinator, and has put him in a situation to flourish over the past two seasons. Levy has grown with the Lions, and that’s something that will continue for the next four years.

Dec 22, 2013; Detroit, MI, USA; Detroit Lions outside linebacker DeAndre Levy (54) celebrates after making a play during the second quarter against the New York Giants at Ford Field. Mandatory Credit: Raj Mehta-USA TODAY Sports

It’s hard to call deals where a team locks up a star player a “steal”, but I don’t mind that word being thrown around here. Per Pro Football Focus, he was sixth among all 4-3 OLBs in Pass Rushing Productivity and was clearly first (yes, even ahead of David) in Run Stop%. Levy has some of the best instincts and range at the position, and he’s a versatile guy who can star anywhere; he’ll be the biggest key to this defense’s success in 2015 without Suh.

So the price was more than right for the Detroit Lions, and the only non edge-rushing OLB you can compare him to is David. Either one of them is the league’s best 4-3 weak-side OLB right now, and with the on-field impact he has, I am surprised there’s a huge gap between his total value and Wagner’s total value. Then again, he is a bit older than Wagner, so the guaranteed money and security of staying with the Lions were probably even more key for Levy.

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