Micah Parsons turned Week 1 into a nightmare for the Detroit Lions, and he's still creating problems for the Green Bay Packers' biggest threat to the NFC North crown.
Along with sending two first-round picks and Kenny Clark to the Dallas Cowboys in the trade, the Packers handed Parsons a four-year, $188 million extension that completely set fire to the pass-rusher market. It punished the Lions for delaying a new deal for Aidan Hutchinson.
That changed on Wednesday, with the Lions handing Hutchinson a four-year extension worth $180 million. He will make slightly below Parsons' $188 million, but the Lions guaranteed him more money.
More importantly, the Packers' deal with Parsons forced the Lions to (almost) match it, and the knock-on effect could hurt them with upcoming contract negotiations for other star players.
Lions handing Aidan Hutchinson $180 million could cost them in future extension talks
The Packers' deal with Parsons didn't just reset the market, it transformed it. The Lions had to reach that ceiling with their offer to Hutchinson, but they had already spent significant money on re-signing star players. According to Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press, Detroit has committed $968.5 million on extensions over the past 18 months.
That can only go on for so long, and the Lions will soon face tougher negotiations with other star players.
"After a few seasons of coasting off rookie deals and high-value contract signings that have simply panned out for the team, Detroit is approaching a crossroads as it pertains to their talented roster," writes Candace Pedraza of SideLion Report. "Extensions are due up for Brian Branch, Jahmyr Gibbs, Jack Campbell, and Sam LaPorta, and it's unlikely the team can sign all of them to the deals they command."
Pedraza believes the Lions may have to move on from at least one of their star players at the end of their rookie contract, with LaPorta the most likely to depart.
"This means that someone will be the odd man out. It sure does feel like that player will be LaPorta, a key piece of Jared Goff's arsenal but one that could be seen as expendable, potentially, by the Lions' front office."
LaPorta certainly does feel like the most likely, but what if the Lions can't match Gibbs' demands? Or if Branch can get a better offer elsewhere?
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That's the tough part about drafting so well. You can't keep everybody. Detroit has built an outstanding roster on both sides of the ball, but they have benefited from rookie contracts in recent years, and the salary cap challenges will soon slow the team's wild spending.
And as they keep re-signing key starters, their financial flexibility decreases more and more.
It likely also rules the Lions out from making a major splash at the NFL trade deadline. While they could make an affordable deal for a pass-rusher like Miami's Jaelan Phillips, the Hutchinson extension all but guarantees they won't make a blockbuster move for an All-Pro talent like Trey Hendrickson.
And that's just fine by us. The Packers traded for arguably the league's best pass-rusher, and that came at a cost. Fortunately, the timing worked out perfectly, as paying Parsons forced the Lions to hand Hutchinson a similar deal. The knock-on effect could prevent them from retaining several other key pieces in the near future.