Rashean Mathis’s career rebounded when he joined the Lions in 2013 and he’ll be sticking around Detroit a little longer.
PFT has learned, via a league source, that Mathis has re-signed with the Lions. It’s a two-year deal worth $3.5 million total and $2 million this season.
Mathis was a second-round pick in Jacksonville in 2003 and is almost a decade removed from making the All-Pro team for the 2006 season. It didn’t look like he’d still be playing in this point after he returned from a torn ACL for the Jaguars in 2012, but Mathis has turned in two good years for the Lions.
Mathis started every game last season and was a key part of the revitalized defense that helped Detroit to the playoffs. Mathis had 51 tackles and one interception, which he returned 51 yards for a touchdown. He’ll turn 35 in August, so there’s a pretty good chance that he’ll slip in 2015 but that would still probably leave him as a better option than much of the other choices the Lions have to play opposite Darius Slay.