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Jeff Okudah receives update on potential fifth-year option from Detroit Lions GM
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Jeff Okudah technically just finished his 3rd season with the Detroit Lions. However, Detroit Lions general manager Brad Holmes considers the 2022 campaign to be more so his rookie season.
The former Ohio State cornerback missed all of the 2021 season after suffering a torn Achilles in the season opener. He also missed 7 games as a rookie due to multiple injuries throughout the regular season. Still, Holmes and the Lions will have a difficult decision to make when it comes to picking up his fifth-year option this offseason.
“I know fifth-year option, all that stuff … is coming up. We’ll address that at the appropriate time,” Holmes said via The Detroit News. “But I’m proud of what Jeff did and I know he’ll hold himself accountable for his play, of the good things and the things he needs to work on.”
Okudah impressed in spurts during Detriot’s promising 9-8 season, but he was far from perfect as the team’s No. 1 cornerback. Some weeks, the 2020 No. 3 pick looked like a bonafide stud in coverage against top-tier receivers. Other weeks, he would split reps with the 1st- and 2nd-team defense.
Holmes said back-to-back injured-plagued seasons had hurt Okudah’s production, but there’s still upside for the 23-year-old to be a star in the making.
“He’s kind of really getting extensive action for the first time. And he showed some good things, but when I say, ‘basically like a rookie season,’ he’s gonna have lumps,” Holmes said. “He showed some good. He had some things that were not so good. But he’s a really young player. I think he’s still developing.”
In 3 seasons Okudah has registered 124 total tackles, 10 pass breakups, and 2 interceptions.
Cole Thompson is a freelance writer for Saturday Tradition who has covered college football and the NFL for multiple websites. Thompson is currently based in Houston, Texas, and also can be heard daily on SportsMap National Radio's 'Just Sayin It' from 3am-6am.