Lions sign DT Alim McNeill to $97 million, 4-year deal in franchise's latest investment

ALLEN PARK, Mich. (AP) — The Detroit Lions have decided to make defensive tackle Alim McNeill their latest investment, retaining a key player with a long-term deal.

“Fired up for Mac, he earned that,” Lions coach Dan Campbell said Wednesday. “He's a pivotal piece for us.”

McNeill signed a $97 million, four-year contract extension, according to a person familiar with the situation. The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the terms had not been announced.

“The timing was crazy,” said McNeill, who wasn't expecting a deal to get done this week.

Detroit (4-1) plays NFC North-leading Minnesota (5-0) on the road Sunday in a potentially pivotal game in the division race and for playoff positioning. The Lions won the NFC North last season, their first division title in three decades.

McNeill joined quarterback Jared Goff, wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown and offensive tackle Penei Sewell as players to land a contract extension this year.

“He's one of our pillars here,” Campbell said. “No different than the guys we signed back.”

Lions general manager Brad Holmes drafted McNeill in the third round — No. 72 overall — in 2021 out of N.C. State and he has become one of the league's top defensive tackles.

McNeill matched a career high with two sacks in a 47-9 rout at Dallas on Sunday. He had five sacks last season, the most by an interior defensive lineman for the Lions since Ndamukong Suh had 8 1/2 sacks in 2014.

Detroit needs McNeill to deliver now more than ever.

“We know we have to step up,” he said.

Aidan Hutchinson was put on injured reserve Tuesday, recovering from a surgically repaired broken leg that is expected to keep him off the field for at least four months. Hutchinson leads the league with 7 1/2 sacks and has 28 1/2 career sacks over 39 games in two-plus seasons.

The Lions also put defensive tackle Kyle Peko on injured reserve and signed defensive end Isaiah Thomas off Cincinnati's practice squad.

“Peko has been one of those silent producers for us,” Campbell said. “We're going to miss him, too.”

Thomas had nine tackles in 10 games for the Cleveland Browns two years ago and had a season-ending knee injury in 2023. The Browns drafted Thomas out of Oklahoma in 2022 with a seventh-round pick, which was acquired from Detroit as part of a trade for quarterback David Blough.

Campbell said Holmes will not be in a rush to make a major move to acquire a highly productive defensive end.

“Brad’s on it, he’s looking at everything,” Campbell said. “Nothing’s off the table, but we’re just not in a hurry.”

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Detroit Lions defensive tackle Alim McNeill, left, sacks Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott (4) as Josh Paschal (93) pressures in the first first half of an NFL football game in Arlington, Texas, Sunday, Oct. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Jerome Miron)

Detroit Lions defensive end Aidan Hutchinson (97) and Alim McNeill, right, celebrate after McNeill sacked Dallas Cowboys' Dak Prescott (4) in the first half of an NFL football game in Arlington, Texas, Sunday, Oct. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/LM Otero)

Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott (4) is sacked by Detroit Lions defensive tackle Alim McNeill, rear, with pressure from Aidan Hutchinson (97) in the first half of an NFL football game in Arlington, Texas, Sunday, Oct. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Jerome Miron)

Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell, center, celebrates with Aidan Hutchinson (97) and Alim McNeill, right, after McNeill sacked Dallas Cowboys' Dak Prescott (4) in the first half of an NFL football game in Arlington, Texas, Sunday, Oct. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Jerome Miron)

Detroit Lions' Alex Anzalone, left, Alim McNeill (54) and Malcolm Rodriguez (44) celebrate after Mcneill sacked Dallas Cowboys' Dak Prescott (4) in the first half of an NFL football game in Arlington, Texas, Sunday, Oct. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Jerome Miron)

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The extended family of Erik and Lyle Menendez will advocate for the brothers' release from prison during a news conference Wednesday in downtown Los Angeles as prosecutors review new evidence to determine whether they should be serving life sentences for killing their parents.

More than a dozen family members traveled across the country to call for the brothers' release in Los Angeles — the largest gathering of relatives since their 1996 sentencing. The news conference is taking place less than two weeks after LA County District Attorney George Gascón announced his office was looking at the brothers' case again.

Erik Menendez, now 53, and his 56-year-old brother, Lyle Menendez, are currently incarcerated in state prison without the possibility of parole after being convicted of killing their parents in their Beverly Hills mansion more than 35 years ago.

Lyle Menendez, who was then 21, and Erik Menendez, then 18, admitted they fatally shot-gunned their entertainment executive father, Jose Menendez, and their mother, Kitty Menendez, in 1989 but said they feared their parents were about to kill them to prevent the disclosure of the father’s long-term sexual molestation of Erik.

While some family members are calling for their release, Kitty Menendez’s brother, Milton Anderson — who is 90-years-old — said through an attorney that he believes “the appropriate sentence” is life in prison without possibility of parole. Anderson was not available for an interview.

“He believes that there was no molestation that occurred. He believes that the motive was pure greed, because they had just learned that they were going to be taken out of the will,” said Kathy Cady, Anderson’s attorney.

The extended family’s attorney Bryan Freedman previously said they strongly support the brothers’ release.

“She wishes nothing more than for them to be released,” Freedman said earlier this month of Joan VanderMolen, Kitty Menendez’s sister and the brothers’ aunt.

In court Wednesday, comedian Rosie O’Donnell plans to join the family.

Earlier this month, Gascón said there is no question the brothers committed the 1989 murders, but his office will be reviewing new evidence and will make a decision on whether a resentencing is warranted in the notorious case that captured national attention.

The brothers’ attorneys said the family believed from the beginning they should have been charged with manslaughter rather than murder. Manslaughter was not an option for the jury during the second trial that ultimately led to the brothers’ murder conviction, attorney Mark Geragos previously said.

The case has gained new traction in recent weeks after Netflix began streaming the true-crime drama “ Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story. ”

The new evidence includes a letter written by Erik Menendez that his attorneys say corroborates the allegations that he was sexually abused by his father. A hearing was scheduled for Nov. 29.

Prosecutors at the time contended there was no evidence of any molestation. They said the sons were after their parents’ multimillion-dollar estate.

But the brothers have said they killed their parents out of self-defense after enduring a lifetime of physical, emotional and sexual abuse from them. Their attorneys argue that because of society’s changing views on sexual abuse, that the brothers may not have been convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life without parole today.

Jurors in 1996 rejected a death sentence in favor of life without parole.

Attorney Mark Geragos informs the media on developments on the case of brothers Lyle and Erik Menendez, both serving life sentences for the murder of their parents in 1989, Thursday, Oct. 3, 2024 in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Jaimie Ding)

FILE - Lyle Menendez looks up during testimony in his and brother Erik's retrial for the shotgun slayings of their parents, Oct. 20, 1995 in Los Angeles. (Steve Grayson/Pool Photo via AP, File)

FILE - Erik Menendez, center, listens to his attorney Leslie Abramson, as his brother Lyle looks on in a Beverly Hills, California, May 17, 1991. (AP Photo/Julie Markes, File)

FILE - An Oct. 31, 2016, photo provided by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation shows Erik Menendez, left, and a Feb. 22, 2018 photo provided by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation shows Lyle Menendez. (California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation via AP, File )

Menendez brothers' family to push for their release as prosecutors review 1989 case

Menendez brothers' family to push for their release as prosecutors review 1989 case

FILE - Lyle, left, and Erik Menendez sit with defense attorney Leslie Abramson, right, in Beverly Hills Municipal Court during a hearing, Nov. 26, 1990. (AP Photo/Nick Ut, File)